The Glitz Pit: Rise to Glory - A New Era (Remastered)
by PiperActive
Summary: OC. It has been 8 years since Jolene took over the Glitz Pit, and the excitement has been nothing short of extraordinary. With a new expanded roster, the bouts are even bigger. A young Toad named Lance arrives and is finally living his dream. Building new relationships with friends and family, Lance discovers that becoming a fighter has a deeper meaning than he's ever known.
1. Dreams Do Come True!

**Chapter 1: Dreams Do Come True!**

I can't believe it. I'm actually here, in the Glitz Pit, home of the greatest entertainment in the world! Don't get me wrong; I've been here lots of times before, but this time is different. I'm not watching fights; I'm signing up to become a fighter and be a part of those battles. It's been a dream of mine ever since my father introduced me into it. The first fight I saw was Rawk Hawk versus Prince Mush, and it still is, to this very day, the greatest fight I've ever seen! That was eight years ago. I'll never forget it…

 ** _Eight Years Earlier…  
_**

"Hey Dad, who's that?" I asked, curious about who were about to come on TV. "Those two fighters are called Rawk Hawk the current champion, who is on your left, and Prince Mush, who is on the right. Prince Mush was the very first champion. He came out of retirement this year and he's finally matching up against Rawk Hawk," he explained. I never understood why they fought at the time, but that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered to my ten-year-old self is how these two fighters were going to knock their blocks off of one another. I always thought they were cool, but never sat through one. I would catch glimpses, but I never paid attention to it until Dad called me over to watch it. When to two fighters laid eyes on each other, so many flashbulbs went off. "Dad, why is it flashing so much? I curiously asked. "Those are flashbulbs from cameras. They're all going off because people want to take a picture of a historical moment before the fight begins. It happens frequently in title matches," he explained. "So, this is a title match?" I responded, trying to fit all this information together. "Yes," he replied. "But this title match marks Prince Mush's first since returning. All eyes are on him to see If he has his mojo back, and on the Rawk Hawk to see if he defends his title, which he's had for a long time," he explained. It was pretty cool to see how fighters put everything on the line like this. The match begun, and everything about it was amazing. At the end of the match, however, Prince Mush came out on top. Dad was excited about it, and I was, too. At that moment, I knew exactly what I wanted to do: be a fighter at the Glitz Pit.

After Dad and I were done celebrating, I asked him, "Hey Dad?" I asked. "I wanna become a fighter!" His eyes were wide open. He was obviously surprised what I said. He looked concerned, if anything. "You do? Did you just see that fight? It was one of the roughest there was!" He said. He was protecting me. Anybody could see that. "But I wanna become a fighter! I don't care how rough it was!" At that very moment, Mother walked in. She was hearing the conversation as clear as day, and she just stood by, listening. She could see the sparkle in my eyes, the will to become whatever it takes to become a fighter. In that moment, she whispered to Dad and they walked in the other room. "Honey…" she started, "This is the first time we've ever seen him so interested in something. The first time he's ever had this much motivation for something." Dad understood where she was coming from, but he protested, "I just don't want our boy to get extremely hurt and have permanent damage somewhere!" Mother defended me to the very end. "And so what? He's willing to take that risk! You said fighters make decent money, right? If somehow, some way, he makes a name for himself, imagine the future he'll have with his own family. That's what we wanted, right?" Dad was stunned. He had no idea she actually investigated the whole fighting business. "Alright. As long as he's motivated, I'll see it through." They nodded to each other and headed back into the room. I had a stern look on my face as they're about to speak. "Okay, son. If you're willing to become a fighter, then I see no problem with it." The moment he said that, I had cheered and jumped for joy, until he said, "On one condition," I stopped. "I will train you, as well as a couple other people I know who are in the fighting business. Is that clear?" I looked at him and said, "Of course Dad! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!" My Mom and Dad saw the joy and hope in my eyes. Each and every day, for eight long years, I trained and trained for this very moment.

 ** _Present Day…_**

…And now, that day has finally come. I walk into the Glitz Pit and I'm greeted by another Toad saying, "Welcome to the Glitz Pit!" I smiled and said "Thank you! Have a good day, alright?" He obliged and thanked me for my kindness. I was always taught to treat people the way you should be treated, and that not everyone comes from the same situation as you. Seeing that Toad smile probably made his day. As I keep walking, I'm met with a security guard blocking the door. "Excuse me," I said. "I'm here- "He cut me off, "What is it, bub?" He said with a gruff in his voice. _Well nice to meet you, too._ _Sheesh._ "I'm here to sign up to become a fighter. An interview with Jolene?" I hand him my letter I received from the mail. "Ah, an interview? Sorry about that, pal. Go right on through." Okay, that was strange, but whatever, I'm in. "Ms. Jolene's office is right down the hallway. You can't miss it. Head on through," he explained. I thanked him and I headed on through.

I go down the hallway and I see a few fighters that I've seen before. Bandy Andy, King K, etc. I get to the door where Ms. Jolene's office is and I'm met with another security guard. "Hi, my name is Lance Vernon and I'm here for an interview with Ms. Jolene to become a fighter," as I said, approaching him. I give him my letter and as he reads it, he gives me a smirk. "Interview to become a fighter, bub? Alright, go on in. Ms. Jolene's just inside." I open the door and the office is big. A picture of Prince Mush and Ms. Jolene is on the wall, and I hear a conversation. I wait outside and as they finish, Prince Mush walks on by. "Hey, there," he says to me, and give a little wave, but inside my head, however, I'm saying _OH MY GOD HI CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_ Yeah, who isn't a huge fan of this guy? He's the CHAMP! As I'm daydreaming in my head, Ms. Jolene calls my name. "Mr. Vernon?" I get out of my daze. "Oh! Yes?" "You can come in now," she says with a weird look on her face. "Sure! Sorry about that." Embarrassed, I can only walk in, wishing that never happened. _Great, what an amazing first impression you made, Lance. Nice going. Sigh._

I sit down in her office and I hand in my physical and information. We shake hands and while she's looking through my information, she asks questions. "So, I'm going to cut to the chase right away. Why do you want to become a fighter?" I already knew what to say. "I want to become a fighter because I knew since watching fights with my Dad on television. I worked very hard to be in the position that I'm in right now, and I want that to pay off. I also want to make my hometown proud, as well as my family and friends." _Way to sound cliché, Lance. Doofus._ "Well, it seems like you have a nice track record. You did well in school, you were very much involved, and you seem physically ready for this business. Can you explain how you got to the point you are now?" _Easy question._ "My father trained me for 8 years. Flare and others helped me along the way for some tips and serious, tedious training." Ms. Jolene's head shot up. "You were taught by Flare?! Lucky you! May I ask what he taught you? _Let's see if this can convince her._ Well, I know you're interviewing me Ms. Jolene, but I'd rather not say. I'd rather show you rather than tell." Ms. Jolene's face smiled. She knew I was being testy, but in a good way. "I respect that, Mr. Vernon." I thanked her, and she continued.

"Eight long years, and here you are: very polite, well-rounded, and mature at a young age of eighteen. I'm quite impressed." _Thank God. I guess zoning out just vanished out of her head._ "However," _Oh crap, here we go. Where's the computer saying ACCESS DENIED?_ "I want to ask you one more question. How far do you think you will go?" _Oh. False alarm._ "I believe I can go all the way to the top, becoming champion. I've always said to myself, 'Why not me?' because anybody can be anything as long they put their mind to it. At least, that's what I think." Ms. Jolene looks up at me, then smiles. _Did I nail it? If so, KA-CHING!_ "Well," Ms. Jolene started, "One thing's for sure: you have a great attitude and great expectations for yourself. So, without further ado," she brings out a sheet of paper and takes out a pen and signs on the paper. "If you could just sign this contract if you're ready to start your career, then please sign here, and on the side, please insert a name you would like to be called in the ring." _KA-CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! BOOM-BASSA-BOOM! NAILED IT._ I sign the contract and write down "Crusader of Destiny" as my nickname. I shook Ms. Jolene's hand and says, "Welcome to the Glitz Pit, Lance. May you strive for success here." I have the biggest smile on my face, which starts to hurt because of it, but that's normal. "Let me show you to your locker room."

As excited as I was, I was kind of nervous, too. I wonder if anybody in the locker room would like me? Who knows. As I walk in the locker room, there's a Koopa and a Hammer Bro. "This is where you will be staying, until you get to the major league, if you get there. Your first match is tonight in a few hours, so you have time to settle in. You're our fortieth fighter, so your rank is #40. Defeat fighters who are higher than your rank, you move up, and the reverse happens if you lose to an opponent who's lower. I decide who you face and I'll let you know when you have a match in the future. You will have no say in this. Be safe, and see you in the ring Crusader of Destiny!" _A fight on my first day, huh? Interesting._ I find an unoccupied locker and I set my things up beside my bed and in my locker. After I settle in and lay down for a bit, I hear a voice call my name.

"Yo dude!" I sit up and see that the Koopa who I saw earlier is walking toward me. "Hey there. How are you?" He keeps walking over, then stops. The Red Koopa with his red boots looked pretty serious. "I'm doing pretty good. My name's Kevin. What's yours?" I replied, "Lance. Nice to meet you Kevin." He smiles, and I noticed the Hammer Bro hasn't done anything. It didn't bother me, though. "So, the 'Crusader of Destiny,' huh? Nice name! Sounds like you mean business!" _Of course I am. Who wouldn't be if they worked here?_ "My sister actually came up with it before I came here. Thought it was pretty cool, so I used it." He laughed and said "I see you're a family-type guy, huh? I like that. Look, I know you have a match soon, so we can catch up a little bit later. If you need to kill time, go out for some fresh air. It helps and works every time," he stated as he headed out the door. "Alright, see you later!" As he left, I was getting ready. _Time to show people what I'm made of. My first fight, first impression. Let's show this training pay off!_

 **End of Chapter 1**


	2. First Fight & New Faces

**Chapter 2: First Fight & New Faces**

As I readied myself for my first fight, I always wondered how the opponent prepared himself. Just imagine in their shoes that they're fighting a newcomer and nobody knows anything about you, or at least you hope they don't. If there's one thing that I've learned during my journey here is that to never second guess yourself. Always try to keep a steady routine before you face the day ahead of you. As I'm walking around Glitzville, I notice how big it is, since the expansion. It's not just a place for entertainment, but living here as well. The Smoothie Shop is still here, and the brand new café is on the rise. Sun's always out and every day is a beautiful day. What more could you want?

I'm on my way back to the locker room when I see a middle-aged toad walk towards me. I notice this smirk on his face. "Hey, are you that new fighter, Lance? I'm figuring you are since you seem new around here."

 _Who in the hell is THIS weirdo?! Just randomly pops outta nowhere and just knows me? Things are just getting flat-out creepy now._

"Yes I am," I said, with a straight face. "And who might you be?" I suddenly felt uneasy. How would this guy just pop up out of nowhere and just all of a sudden suspect I'm the new guy when I'm not even a day old? I'm already weirded out. "Ah, the name's Toadle. Just a fight fan. I heard about ya on the news, too. Good luck," he said, as he walks away. Just then, a light breeze was felt after he left. I looked at the time and its almost time for my match. I head toward the Glitz Pit and enter on through.

As I'm waiting at the blue gate, I noticed other fighters staring at me. _Is my debut really that big of a deal?_ I was thinking. Then, Kevin comes by and wishes me luck. "Hey man, good luck! Kick some ass for the minor league, now, would ya?" I chuckled as he walked away. As I'm looking around, the security guard chimes in and says, "Alright, bub, head on in. Good luck." The doors open and that's when the beginning of my life began.

At the arena, Ms. Jolene is in the ring about to announce the fighters. I'm the new fighter in town, so I attracted some attention, believe it or not. I hear Ms. Jolene speaking in the arena, "Hello fight fans, and welcome to another action-filled night at the Glitz Pit!" The crowd cheered on in excitement through her introduction. "Tonight, we start off with a fight that features the new fighter in town! He has big hopes and dreams to one day be on top! His challenger, however, has something to say about that! Please welcome to the ring, Rank #39 in the Glitz Pit, the Goomba of Terror, Jacob!" The crowd gives out a big cheer as Jacob hops on in the ring. For a goomba, he has a relatively unique physique than your average goomba. Ms. Jolene approaches Jacob as she asks, "Well, Jacob, looking good as always! What's your mindset about facing a newcomer?" Jacob steps up and says, "Newcomer? Please! The last time we had someone like that he was out in a week! I betcha this guy is another washed-up wanna-be! Now, let's just get this over with"

 _Washed-up wanna-be? Was that the best you could come up with? What a total waste of energy THAT was. Geez, and what's with the reception with this guy? He's probably just there to create a scene._

"A big call-out from Jacob! How will the newcomer respond?" Ms. Jolene continued, "Well, let's bring him out, folks! Please welcome the new rookie fighter, ranked #40 in the Glitz Pit, the Crusader of Destiny, Lance!" As my doors opened, I walked in, with my white combat shirt and blue training pants with white stripes. Everyone sees how I look, and I get a cheer from the crowd. I walk in with a determined, calm face, looking directly at Jacob. From what I learned from Flare and Dad, I was told to always have your eyes on your opponent, with a few exceptions. I walked up into the ring, ready to start my career, but not only that, I have one thing on my mind: Win.

Ms. Jolene walks up towards me and asks, "Well Lance, it's your first fight of your career, and Jacob is already calling you out. What do you have to say?" _I have the perfect response._ "Big mouth, big target, and a big 'L' on your record coming right up." As I said that, it seemed that I caught Jacob's attention and the crowd's, getting an ' _Ohhhhhhhh!'_ from them. "Alright fighters, let's get ready too…"

 ** _BRAAAAAAWL!_**

From that moment, the gong is heard, and the fight begins. Jacob starts charging at me and keeps throwing kicks and headbonk attacks, however, I dodge them easily. He starts picking up speed and I suddenly grab his leg. Jacob, caught off guard, had a worried look on his face.

 _How is he able to keep up with me?_

I throw him up and jump and start to attack with a combination of punches and kicks, and finish with a drop kick. "UGH! Lucky shots…" he said as he hit the ground. He suddenly couldn't find me. "Huh?! Where'd he go?!" The crowd was amazed at how fast my movement was. As he's looking for me, I say to him, "Over here," with a smirk on my face. He realizes that I'm behind him, but it's too late as I start my attack. "DRAGON DANCE!" I shout, and I unleash a flurry of punches on Jacob, being able to push him backward. "Damn it! Grr…TAKE THIS! DARK TRANSIT!" he shouted, and he disappeared. "What the…"

 _Well that's interesting. Trust your instincts, Lance._

I close my eyes and concentrate, until I head a footstep behind me. I see him go for a headbonk and I stop him. The crowd cheers in amazement. "What?!" Jacob says in astonishment, "How did you know where I was?!" I explain, "I heard you land, and I knew exactly where you were. Now, it's time to finish this." I threw Jacob up in the air and I shout "SERPENT DRAGON FURY!" I jump and hit him with combinations of punches and kicks, and as I raise my arm for the final blow, a dragon-like figure revolves around my arm and I hit Jacob, with the force sending him to the ground. Jacob is unable to get up and is knocked out. The crowd cheers loudly.

"Jacob is knocked out! WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! THE CRUSADER OF DESTINY, LANCE!" Ms. Jolene shouted, announcing my victory to the crowd. The crowd roars again, and they start chanting my name.

 _Wow, that's an awesome feeling! I feel like a celebrity!_

Ms. Jolene walks up to me after the match and asks me, "Well, Lance? How did your first match feel? A well-deserved and convincing victory! What do you have to say?" I figured I could say something nice and simple, so I said, "I feel great! Thank you everyone!" The crowd cheers my name as I exit the arena and start my way back toward the locker room.

 ** _Meanwhile in the locker room…_**

Kevin and the Hammer Bro were watching the fight from the locker room on television. Kevin looks amazed, whereas the Hammer Bro does not. "Wow. He handled him with ease," Kevin said, having an impressed look on his face. He turns to the hammer bro who is behind him, who does not look pleased to say the least. "We'll see how long he lasts. Brand new fighters leave very quickly these days," he said, as he rolled his eyes. Kevin gave him a stern look and said, "Oh come on, give the kid a chance. Apparently he trained eight long years to be here. You really wanna questions THAT?!" The hammer bro just shrugged it off, and went out in the hall. "He needs to prove himself," he said as he walked out.

 _Sigh, what a guy. That's Richard for ya! Still, I see something special in this kid, and boy I hope I'm right! The last few haven't been so…..successful. We need a bright, young, talented guy in here. It would sure do the Pit wonders._

As I walked in, Kevin greeted me with excitement. "Dude, that was sick! You handled him like it was nothing!" he stated, with his eyes beaming. As I thanked him, he asked me, "Hey, you wanna celebrate for a smoothie? I have time before my match!" "Sure! Let's head on over!" I exclaimed. As we both left the locker room, the Hammer Bro ponders in thought, "I still don't see it. One fight doesn't prove anything."

At the smoothie bar while we are waiting for our drinks, Kevin asks, "Mind if I ask you something personal?" I looked at him, confused. "Sure, I guess." _Personal? Gah, I shouldn't worry about it._ "Just wondering, but have you had any past relationships before coming here?" "Oh, is that all?" I said with relief. _I was worried he was gonna ask something crazy._ "I dated someone a couple years ago, but we were never serious." Kevin looked at me with a smile. "Well, that's good! The reason I asked is because there are some fiiiiiine lookin' babes around here. Nowhere better in the world, eh?" _Oh geez…_ "Really?" I said with a chuckle. "I don't see you with one, so that means that statement is either false, or you're just that bad!" Kevin's mouth dropped. "Awww, bro, that was COLD! I admit, you got me there!" He said, laughing it up. "It's good to know you got a good sense of humor. As for me, I have a girlfriend back home, and she visits from time to time. As you could tell, I like to lay loose and just have good time. What's the fun in this business if you don't wanna spend some downtime with some good folks?" I nodded in agreement. As he goes on, I notice a girl walk into the smoothie bar. She instantly caught my eye. _Whoa…she's…_ As she walked in, I noticed how beautiful she looked with her dress with purple and red decorations, and her straightened red hair. It looks like she's waiting for somebody. I get lost in a daze when Kevin suddenly hits me. "OW!" "Dude!" he whispered. "I see you got your eye on someone. Wanna talk to her?" _WHAT TH-_ "Why?! I don't even know her!" I said stoutly. "Then go over and talk to her!" _He has a point. I definitely didn't have plans being alone for the rest of my life._ "Alright then. Here goes."

As I walk over towards her table, she notices me walking towards her. _Well, here comes the 'lets walk away from the random dude' move._ She looks at me, and smiles. _Wow, even her smile is beautiful._ "Hi there." I froze for a moment, but recover. "Hello. Mind if I sit here?" She smiled as I asked, and nodded. "Sure, I have some time." _SCORE! Er, well, so far that is._ As I sat down, she says, "So you must be Lance." _Wait, she's heard of me already?_ "Yes, I am. How did you know that?" I asked. "Well," she started, "I saw you on TV, and I thought you were great." I smile. "Oh, thanks." _NAME. ASK FOR HER NAME, DIMWIT._ "Oh, sorry, what's your name?" _Great job, doofus, ya blue it already._ "My name is Emily!" she says with a smile. "It's starting to get crowded in here. Do you want to, uh...you know, walk somewhere?" I ask. _IDIOT. 'Walk somewhere?' That was oh-so-clever._ "Sure!" she exclaimed. "I'll meet you outside!" As she walked out, Kevin walks by and says, laughing, "GET 'EM LANCE!" I chuckle and retort "Oh, shut up, Kevin!"

 _Although I just met this girl, I feel like this is going to be a meeting I won't soon regret._

 **End of Chapter 2**


	3. A Rival Surfaces

**Chapter 3: A Rival Surfaces**

As I was walking with Emily, I noticed that the town was in full swing; people running around and managing their stores, restaurants, it was interesting to see. The expansion on Glitzville was a sight to see in person. Afterwards, Emily asks me "So, where are you from? You're obviously not from around here." She had this look that she was interested in what I had to say. "I'm from Petalburg," I started. "Compared to Glitzville, Petalburg is smaller and much quieter. It's peaceful, no doubt." Emily had a surprised look on her face. "Really? It's hard to believe a fighter like yourself came from such a town." "Yeah, I guess so," I replied. "But my Dad was fight fan, and he enjoyed watching it. That's how I got into it. I saw a title match, and decided this is something I wanted to do. He helped me train for 8 long years, and now, here I am." Emily had an even more surprised look on her face, kind of the one you see in shows where they find the real culprit of the crime. "Wow, I never knew! What did your Mom say about it?" she asked curiously. "Well," I started with a chuckle. "Mom didn't like the idea at first. I was the first of three children, so naturally she didn't want me to get hurt. My dad proposed that he would train me. She agreed, and then we started. She's happy because I'm happy. Mom's always been like that." Emily smiled. "Well, I'm sure she is, and so is everyone else!"

As we're talking, we notice a diner that we agreed to go into. As we sat down, I asked, "Well, enough about me. What about you? Are you from Glitzville or somewhere else?" She replied, "I'm originally from Poshley Heights. I lived there until I was 14, then my parents retired and we moved here in Glitzville. I've lived here ever since." Now I was the one who looked surprised. "Poshley Heights, eh? I've never been there, but I heard it's a nice place." Her expression changed. "It was nice for a time, but I didn't like it after a while." _Now THAT is something. Mostly everyone I know DREAMS of living there._ "How come you didn't like it there?" I questioned. My curiosity always gets the best of me. "It's nice, don't get me wrong, but the people there were so spoiled and snobbish. Most of my friends always got what they wanted." _Well, I guess that's what money can do to people._ I started to regret asking until she lit up and said "But moving here was the best decision my parents made. I have a job, great friends, and we're having this nice conversation." she said as she smiled.

Our coffee arrived right when she said that. As we drank our coffee, the door opens as we're about to continue. It was a guy who looked like he was looking for something, and when his head turned towards our direction, his face lit up until he saw us. I didn't notice him until he suddenly started walking over. He quickly sits down next to Emily, puts his arm around her shoulders, and says "Hey, beautiful. Where have you been?" _Well, hello to you too, pal._ Emily's expression quickly turned nervous. "Oh…uh…Hello Shawn." _Shawn? As in Shawn the Great?_ Shawn's face turns serious when his eyes meet mine. "Who the hell are you?" he said gruffly. "And why you hangin' with my girl?" Emily could barely speak a word until she said quietly, "Shawn, stop…" He looked aggravated, and something told me he didn't like my company. "Stop? It's obvious he's tryin' to steal you away from me." As he said that, I turned to him and say "Steal her away from you? Seems to me she wants to stay away from YOU." I say aggressively, standing my ground. Emily's eyes open, like she's surprised I said something in the first place. "Oh wait. I know you." he chuckled. "You're that new guy. Lance? A minor-league scrub like you is obviously not worth my time." he said as he laughed. "Shawn, stop," Emily retorted. "Could you leave me alone please?" His smug expression on his face changed instantly. "What, I'm not good enough for you anymore? You'd rather be with a lowlife like HIM?!" _Alright, NOT COOL._ "The lady asked you to leave," I said, standing up. Shawn laughed even more. "I'm sorry, was that a threat? You ain't nothin' to me." I then get up in his face. "Listen, boy." he started. "If I ever see you around her again, you're gonna be a pile of koopa troopas with no shells. Got it?" I replied, "I'd like to see you try. Now leave." He grunts and says something to himself and finally leaves. _What a scumbag._

I sit back down to Emily who looks like who's about to cry. "Emily, are you okay?" She starts to shed tears. "He always does this to me. Whenever I meet a new guy, he automatically assumes I'm dating someone else." _Obsessive, much?_ "Wait, do you mean…" She looks up to me with a sad expression and says "Yes, I dated him. It was only for a month, and I just wasn't interested in him anymore. He changed for the worse, and I wanted nothing to do with it anymore. I cut it off a month ago." As she explained, I could sense some distress and could see the pain on her expression. "It seems like you moved on and he hasn't. Nothing is your fault." Her expression doesn't change, and then says "But he makes it feel like it is." _Alright, time to change the mood here._ "He won't be bothering you anymore. You can trust me on that." She seemed surprised. "Huh? Are you going to go after him?" I laughed. "Not at this moment, but if there's one thing I've learned from my family is that there is no reason to have someone treat another like that. It's one of my morals." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. "But we just met. Why would you wanna do something like that for me?" I turned to her and say "I'm sure your friends feel the same way. You're a nice girl, and someone who's nice doesn't deserve to be treated like that." Emily smiled again. That's what I was going for. "See? There we go! It seems to be getting late. Wanna leave?" She nods with a smile.

We exit the diner and it's nighttime. The night sky is decorated beautifully with stars and the moon. Emily suddenly turns to me. "Thank you for today, Lance. And thank you for the whole thing with Shawn." I smile right back and laugh. "Hey, don't mention it. It was nice meeting you, too! Want me to walk you home?" Emily laughs, "Thanks, but my house it right around the corner. I'll see you around?" Her smile shines even more in the moonlit night. "Yeah, of course! See ya!" I see her off, and we go our separate ways for the night. _That wasn't so bad. Take out Shawn being rude, and it was probably the perfect night._ As I'm walking back towards the Glitz Pit, I see Shawn talking to people, and they see me. All they do is give a stern stare. _Someone doesn't get over things very easily. I sure hope I face you one day._ I stare right back at them. They look like they're about to approach me, but Kevin finds me. "Lance!" he shouts. "Come here really quick." As I approach him, he gives a serious look and says "Is someone giving you a problem?" I tell him the whole incident with Shawn. He gives an even more serious look. "Dude, I know you probably have a lot of talent, but don't get into it with a major leaguer. ESPECIALLY Shawn." Kevin suddenly sees the fire in my eyes, how much I really want a piece of him. He sighs and says, "Alright, look, we'll talk about this later. For now, let's go to the pit and cheer a friend of mine on right now, okay?" I sighed in frustration, but I kept my cool. "Alright," I said. "Who's your friend? All I know around here is you." Kevin laughed, "He's kind of the type where he goes to his own happy place when he's the main event." My eyes widened. "Whoa, is it for the title?!" I questioned with surprise. "Not exactly. If he wins tonight, he'll be in the major league, though." _Ah, now I understand._

With much surprise, we get there in time with really good seats. I start to wonder and ask, "Hey, how did you get these good seats?" Kevin grinned. "I know a guy. When you build a winning streak and do decently in the minor league, your name will start to spread." I laughed. "You have friends?" I said in a jokingly matter. Kevin brushed it off and lightly smacked my shoulder while chuckling. "Man, that was cruel! This is why you weren't able to get some tonight!" We both laughed, and then Jolene steps into the ring. "HELLO AGAIN, EVERYBODY! I HOPE YOU'RE ENJOYING YOURSELVES TONIGHT!" The crowd roars in excitement. It seems like it was another good night for the Glitz Pit. "Now! It is time for our main event! We have a fighter who could potentially be in the major league tonight if they win!" The crowd cheers on. It feels like the crowd has been anticipating the main event tonight. Curious, I ask Kevin, "So, what's your friend's name?" "His name is Richard. He's a Hammer Bro from Koopa Village. You might have seen you around, but he doesn't talk much when he has an important match coming up. He's been watching you as well." "Well," I started, "considering how well you say he's been doing, he might just get to the majors." Right as I say that, Jolene starts announcing the fighters. "First up, he's been tearing up the minor leagues these past couple weeks, and he finally has a chance to move up to the major league! Please welcome ranked #21 in the Glitz Pit…

 _ **THE ASCENDED WARRIOR, RICHARD THE HAMMER BRO!**_

The crowd roared with excitement, chanting "RICHARD! RICHARD! RICHARD!" Kevin, however had a questioned look on his face. I nudge him and ask, "There something wrong?" Kevin looked over and smirked. "Eh, not really. Although no one knows his opponent. The crazy thing is that if you got a shot at the major league, you don't know who you're facing. It's the challenge of moving up to the big leagues." _Of course. They introduced that rule a couple years ago. Although it's had its fair share of controversy, it's produced some of the greatest fights ever seen. It does make me curious, though: Who is Richard's opponent?_

As I pondered the thought, Jolene spoke again. "And now, his opponents! He's a championship contender who claims he will finally redeem himself! Introducing ranked #8 in the Glitz Pit…

 _ **SHAWN THE GREAT!**_

The crowd's excitement suddenly drops. You hear groaning and people started booing. Not because of Jolene picking the opponent, but it sounded like people did not like this fighter one bit. "OH COME ON, REALLY?!" Shouted Kevin with disgust. I take a look at him, and I see that he's the same person I ran into while I was with Emily. Kevin turns to me and says "In case you're wondering, people hate this guy's attitude. He treats other fighters pretty badly, especially-" I cut him off and say "minor-leaguers. Yeah, I know. He said something similar to me today. 'Minor-league scrub' is what he said to me. Kevin sighed in disgust. "That figures. Y'know, if Richard somehow beats him, I can die a happy man!" He chuckled. _Figures you would say that._ Kevin seemed like the kind of person who makes the most out of any situation.

Just as the crowd settles down, Jolene speaks. "And here we go folks! Will Richard move on up to the major-league? Or will Shawn continue his dominance? Let's keep it clean, boys! Get yourselves ready to…

 _ **BRAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!**_

The gong is sounded and the fight begins. Richard moves in and starts attacking Shawn, but he's avoiding all of Richard's attacks. Shawn, with a cocky smile jumps over him. Richard reacts quickly by throwing a hammer at him and hitting him, and follows up with an uppercut. Shawn recovers quickly and lands on his feet, and counterattacks with a charging head butt, knocking Richard back. "Whoa," Kevin said. "Shawn is one quick Toad." _I'm fast, too. Nobody's seen it yet._ Richard charges in for another assault, this time with hammers in his hands. Shawn is avoiding all of his attacks, and suddenly ducks and hits Richard with a sweeping low kick, sending Richard off-balance and vulnerable. Shawn then goes in and starts attacking Richard, landing punches and kicks, and finally hits Richard to the ground, but he gets up quickly and throws another hammer at Shawn who was not expecting it and hits him, knocking him back. "There you go Rich. Play your game." Kevin said as the events unfolded. His eyes were glued to the fight, and so were mine, but I was puzzled. "How come he's not counterattacking?" Kevin laughs and said "That WAS his counterattack. Richard's style is a bit different than everyone else's. He likes to chip away at people, wear them down, then REALLY do some damage. People have tried this tactic in the past, but Richard has perfected it. Combine that with his skill, it's no surprise he's gotten this far." Shawn charges in for another attack, and Richard throws another hammer. Shawn jumps and dodges it, but Richard jumped right up where Shawn was going to be, and unleashed a powerful swing of his hammer and hits Shawn hard to the ground. Shawn got right back up and jumped away. "Okay…he's smarter than I thought."

The crowd cheered. I looked on in amazement. "Wow, that was clever. Using that hammer as a diversion was smart." Kevin looked on and he had a serious expression on his face. "Shawn has a lot more in store for him, and that's what I'm scared of." Richard charged in for an assault on Shawn, but before he could, he grabbed Richard's arm and threw him back. Richard struggled to recover, and Shawn ran up for a drop kick. Richard grabs a hammer and slams it and used its force to launch him, but Shawn saw it coming, and jumped up after him. He started attacking the vulnerable Richard, and slammed him on the ground, doing some serious damage. "ARGH!" Richard shouted, in pain. As if anything couldn't get any worse, Shawn landed a drop kick on Richard as a follow up. Richard gets up slowly, but Shawn head butts him back and uppercuts him. Shawn smirks and says, "Alright, Rich. Time's up. Gonna give up and go back to the minor-league where you belong?" Richard then slowly gets up, defying Shawn's words. "Come on, Richard. Show him." Kevin said with a stern look on his face. I could only ponder and watch what was going to unfold.

Richard then takes out two hammers, one for each hand. He smiled and said, "You forgot one thing, Shawn. His smirk disappeared from his face. "I forgot my drink, 'cause I didn't think I would need to sweat. Was that it?" he said sarcastically. Richard then readied himself, and he started glowing. All of a sudden, he charged up with incredible speed, and hit Shawn. He continued his onslaught with incredible speed and power. The crowd roared in excitement. "Holy moly, where did all that come from?!" Kevin had a smile on his face. "That's his true potential. He only does this when he's backed into a corner, and now it depends on if Shawn can survive this! COME ON RICH!" Shawn suddenly started to retaliate, as each fighter is taking one mighty blow after another from each other. Richard finally rose up and unleashed his most powerful attack while he shouted, "MYSTIC HAMMER STRIKE!" Meanwhile, Shawn unleashes his most powerful attack, "ULTIMATE TIGER RAGE!" Both attacks collide with each person taking damage, however, it seems that Richard took more damage than Shawn. As Shawn is still standing, Richard falls to the ground, and is unable to continue. Jolene steps forward and announces, "AND WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! SHAWN THE GREAT!" The crowd groans and boos out of frustration. "DAMN IT!" Kevin shouts out in anger. "I kind of figured this would happen." I said with disappointment. "Shawn was one step ahead of Richard the entire way, although he was surprised by that last attack. He was saving his energy for the big finale. As you can see, he doesn't seem very tired."

Right as I said that, Richard gets up on one knee, favoring his stomach. As Shawn is walking by, he kicks him back on the ground and says, "Stay down, minor-leaguer. You don't belong here!" Richard felt pain. Shawn kicked him again, and my anger swells up. "Wait, SERIOUSLY?!" I shouted. Kevin looked over, surprised that I shouted. "THAT'S IT!" I start running up, cutting through people to get to the ring. "Lance, wait!" he shouted as I ran, but I ignored him. He sighed, frustrated. " _Why does this always happen to me?_ " he wondered. I jumped into the ring and pushed Shawn to the ground, defending Richard. He looks up, sees me, and says, "You…you're the scrub from the diner! You're REALLY pushing my buttons." I take a look at Richard, kneeling down. Kevin comes up and says, "Hey, how is he?" I glance at Kevin. "He's fine, just get him to the doctor. I'll deal with Shawn." Right as I said that, Shawn gets right up in my face, and we're immediately separated. We shouted at each other until we were escorted out of the ring, and into our locker rooms. As I entered my room, Richard, the hammer bro, came up to me. "It took a lot of guts to do that, and I thank you for coming up and defending me." I smiled. _It seems like he's doing okay, but it never hurt to ask._ "It's no problem, really. How are things on your end?" Richard didn't look too concerned. "I'll be fine. Couple bumps and bruises here and there, but I'll be fine. Shawn fights real dirty. You all saw the cheap shot, but I'm not gonna complain." Things seem to go rather well. Richard looked at me with a concerned face. "Be warned, though, that you're getting involved with a major-leaguer's business. With you being a minor-leaguer, that doesn't look too good in that locker room. Just be careful is all I'm trying to say." I nod, understanding the circumstances.

 _Funny thing is, I have this strange feeling that this whole ordeal with Shawn is not over yet. Something tells me that this isn't over. The Glitz Pit is going to be insane these next few days. I guarantee it.  
_

~End of Chapter 3


	4. Tensions Brewing

**Chapter 4: Tensions Brewing**

Lance, Richard, and Kevin are all awake in the morning, having their usual breakfast at the Smoothie Bar & Diner. During their visit, they all get unusual stares from people, as they still remember what happened last night between Lance & Shawn.

Richard finally breaks the silence by saying, "Lance, thanks a lot for last night. Nobody else would've done that."

Kevin looks at them both and states, "Yeah, it takes balls to just shove a big-time major-leaguer like that, and you're new!"

Lance smiles. "I hate it when I see things like that. When big-headed people do stuff like that, it gets under my skin, especially how Shawn thinks we're just worthless."

Richard chuckles in agreement. "Just keep your cool. If you show that he's getting on your nerves, he's already won."

Lance could only nod in silence. He didn't know what to say. _He has a point. I really have to keep my cool. I don't even know what Shawn is capable of, let alone anybody else out here._ While Lance was deep in thought, Jolene walked in, seeing the three fighters at the booth.

"I figured I could find you three here," she says confidently.

"Hey Jolene, when's my title shot?!" Kevin chimes in jokingly. Richard and Lance laugh as Jolene retorts with "Remember how I told you have the potential in a year? I meant five." Richard had his mouth wide open while Kevin laughed so hard he almost spat out his orange juice. "Anywho, all jokes aside, yesterday was…" Jolene glanced over to Lance for a second or two. "…interesting, to say the least. Regardless, all three of you have matches. Kevin, you're facing off against Rank #28, Peter the Dark."

Kevin had a serious look. "Oh boy, this guy gave me a run for my money last time."

Jolene switches her attention to Richard. "Richard, you will be fighting Rank #22, Eric the Swift." Richard looks up. "The veteran Hammer Bro? Interesting."

Jolene finally turns to Lance, who looks more nervous than a Koopa who just lost their shell. "And Lance? You'll be fighting Rank #37, Henry, the Iron Bulldozer." Lance only nods as he sips his coffee. Jolene is about to leave, but then turns to say one last thing to Lance.

"Oh and Lance? Thanks for sticking up for Richard last night. I wasn't exactly thrilled, but you did the right thing." Richard and Kevin have surprised expressions on their faces.

"You mean you're not mad at me?" Lance wondered. Jolene smirked.

"No, not really. It puts a good influence here, especially the minor-league." Lance was dumbfounded. "Moral of the story: Keep being you, Lance." Jolene leaves the Smoothie Bar & Diner, as the three fighters are speechless, but they all had a look of determination.

As the three leave the diner, the group is then approached by reporters, but more focused on Lance. "Hey Lance! What's your beef with Shawn, huh?" A reporter questioned. Another reporter quickly asked, "Lance, why are you getting into Major-league affairs?" Lance was thinking of what to say.

"He was being a jerk. I was just defending Shawn, so there's no beef." Lance answered. Just then, after hearing what he said, one of the reporters responded, "But I heard there was a falling out in the coffee shop where he saw Emily, his ex-girlfriend, who you were with. Are you two a thing?" Lance signaled Richard and Kevin to go out of the chaos. He looked at them with a stern look. They went back towards the locker room.

On their way there, Kevin felt guilty. "Man, we should've done something to help him. He's getting treated like garbage!"

"It was his idea to get us out of there in the first place. He'll be fine. It was either now or later. You know that," Richard responded. As they're walking back, they're approached by a mysterious figure.

"Hey, are you friends with Lance?" Richard, looking square in the eye of this person, says "Yes. Is there a problem, Mark?"

Mark, a well-rounded Goomba, looked on. "Tell him to watch his back, tonight," He stated. I heard some of Shawn's goonies are planning something."

Richard looked at Kevin like his fears turned into reality. "We'll make sure to tell him. Thanks for the warning, dude."

Mark grinned. "No worries. I like what he did. Reminds me of someone who did the same thing for me a year ago." Richard looked away.

"Well, this is different. I just hope this pans out." As the two get to their locker room, Kevin had the biggest smile on his face. "What you so happy about?" Richard questioned. "I have a plan, and I'm pretty sure you want to be in on this, too."

Meanwhile, Lance is dealing with the reporters, as he responds to the question he was confronted on earlier. "We are not a thing. We just met that same day, too, so don't overreact." Just then, he sees Shawn in the distance, staring and laughing with what seemed like a few of his friends. _Did he plan this? I'm getting a pretty weird vibe here._

Just then, a reporter responded to his answer. "Well, Shawn said that Emily said it was a date. It's one of the headlines in the paper." Lance couldn't believe what her was hearing. _Was I just…played for a fool?_ He hears hysterical laughter coming in the direction where Shawn was. It was him. Right then and there, Lance rushes into the Glitz Pit, as he escapes the paparazzi-like crowd. His mind was jumping to conclusions, until he finally snapped out of it. _Get ahold of yourself, Lance! You know better than to just assume!_ Suddenly, Shawn and a couple of his friends walked in as he's making his way back into his locker room.

"Hey Lance, what's with all the reporters?" Shawn said with a snicker, and his two friends followed. Lance ignored him and kept walking. "HEY. I'm talking to you. Don't ignore me." Fighters were looking out in the hallway seeing what was going on. They all had suspense written on their faces. Kevin and Richard looked out, and were worried what was going to happen.

Kevin was panicking. "I didn't think they'd be in the locker room area," he whispered to Richard. They both stood still, as all they could do was watch as it unfolded.

He kept ignoring them until he heard Shawn whispered, "Get him." He then stopped, which startled his friend. _I think it's time for a little psychological warfare._ His friend, a purple koopa troopa, was frozen. Shawn got impatient. "Well?! What are you waiting for, Jake?! Go get him! He's just a filthy minor-leaguer!" At that moment, Lance turned around, having a steady impression on his face, looking like he's ready for a full-scale war. Jake sensed his intensity, as he stood frozen, still.

"Uhh…Shawn? There's something different about this guy…" Shawn's expression made him look like he's seen two heads. Jake backs off, quivering in fear, as Shawn grew frustrated.

"SERIOUSLY?! W-Well, FINE! Be a wuss then! Aaron, get him!" he commanded his second follower, a boomerang bro. Aaron doesn't seem fazed about Lance's stance. _Round two._

"Go ahead." Aaron, surprised he was spoken to, stops to respond. "Go ahead what?" Lance chuckles at his retort. "Go ahead and touch me. Try and rough me up. You have no idea what I'm capable of doing." Thinking Lance is trying to trick him, he charges at him. In this instance, Lance was out of Aaron's sight. Shawn tries to warn him.

"Hey, he's behind you!" he shouts, but it was too late. Lance disappears again, but then reappears on top of Aaron's head. Shawn looks like he's seen a ghost. _Wh-what…?! How does he…_ Aaron swings his boomerang over his head, but he misses, as Lance disappears again, this time, where Emily is standing.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked the relieved Emily. She wanted to say something, but Lance says something before she does. "Before you say anything, I know you weren't involved in this whole thing with the paparazzi. Emily smiles as she thanks Lance for believing in her. "I'll be right back."

Lance reappears in front of Aaron, who runs away cowardly. Shawn can't believe what he's seeing. Everyone is speechless in the hallways peeking out. Security and Jolene come rushing out. "What the hell is going on out here?!" She sees everyone staring at Shawn and Lance. "ALRIGHT EVERYONE, GET BACK TO YOUR BUSINESS. LANCE, SHAWN, YOU TOO!"

Everyone returns to their rooms frustrated, Shawn especially. Lance goes to Kevin and Richard, as Emily follows them into the room. "DUDE, THAT WAS SO FUNN!" Kevin exclaimed with extreme laughter. Lance then lays down exhausted, which concerns the three.

"Lance?! Are you okay?!" cried Emily. Lance chuckled. "Um…why are you laughing?"

"Did you see the LOOKS on their faces?! Absolutely PRICELESS." Richard, Kevin and Lance are all laughing hysterically, as Emily doesn't seem to understand what's going on. Lance attempts to explain to her.

"My whole idea was to mess with their minds! They looked like they were about to wet themselves!" Lance exclaimed. "To answer your question, I'm fine! I'm just worn out because I went so fast, and at that level takes a lot out of me." Emily feels relieved, and laughing it out, too. Unfortunately, they don't realize that Shawn is listening in from the other side, finding out the truth of Lance's plan. _He…he made a FOOL OUT OF ME. NOBODY DOES THAT, ESPECIALLY NOT A MINOR-LEAGUE LOW-LIFE LIKE HIM!_

After everyone calms down, Lance finally realizes he needs to introduce Emily. "Oh! Kevin and Richard, this is Emily. Emily, this is Kevin and Richard." Emily smiles and greets herself.

"Hello! Lance talked about you guys. You've been helping him, from what I heard?" Emily assumes. Kevin and Richard do the same. Kevin tries to be funny as he jokingly says, "Yeah, nice to meet ya! I'm the one who helped him pick you up."

Lance, embarrassed, lightly punches Kevin on the arm. "I'm gonna get you back for that one, Kev." Kevin just laughs as Richard introduces himself. "I'm the mature one around here." Emily laughed as she meets everyone. Afterwards, she just cuts right to the chase.

"Well, what are we going to do about Shawn? He's gonna be pissed if he finds out this was all a prank." She asks in a worried voice. The three fighters looked at each other.

"Oh c'mon, Emily. Even if he does find out, what's the worst that could happen?" Kevin suggested. Emily didn't agree with Kevin, as she's expression concern for the group. _She has a point, though. Word travels fast these days in Glitzville. It doesn't matter, though. If anything comes up, we'll be prepared._

The day continues as another day in the Glitz Pit is about to begin. The three fighters are getting ready for their matches. Emily is in the stands with her friends, but feels uneasy about tonight. Lance and Kevin are raring to go, but Richard feels a sense of dread.

Kevin notices something seems off with Richard. "Hey, you okay? You don't look so good." Richard has a worried look on his face. "I'm just worried about Lance, tonight. I feel like Shawn might be planning something." Right as he says that, Lance walks into the locker room.

"Hiya! What's up?" Lance said cheerfully. Kevin and Richard looked on, confused. _Huh? What's with the weird looks I'm getting?_ Kevin finally chimes in.

"That was a pretty long jog than your usual thing. What took ya?" Kevin felt a little weird. _Ugh, I'm acting like this guy's mom. What am I, a babysitter?!_

Lance laughed, "Oh! I ran into Emily and she introduced me to a few friends. I also ran into a family friend who lives around here. He's gonna be watching tonight."

"Ohhh, meeting the friends, eh? Were they hot? Considering how you didn't come back with any speaks louder than words!" Kevin retorted. Everyone starts laughing as Lance comically pushes Kevin. _Something tells me tonight's gonna be better than last night. Although, considering what's happened today, I can't let my guard down._

 **Meanwhile, back in a home in Petalburg…**

Lance's family, along with a few hometown friends, are all gathered to watch Lance's fight. Lance's Mom, Dad, his brother Kyle, and his sister Mary, are scattered between the living room and dining room, with snacks and sandwiches displayed on the dining room table and living room table. Flare is in attendance, too, as well as Lance's friends Erica, a blue Toad with long brunette hair, and Dan, a blue-colored Koopa Troopa.

"Hey Mr. Vernon! Thanks so much for inviting us over tonight. We couldn't miss Lance in action tonight!" Mr. Vernon smiles.

"Well, I'm glad both of you could make it! The three of you have known each other since 2nd grade, and your great people to him. Not to mention you helped us out with training." Mr. Vernon explained. Mrs. Vernon was walking by when he said that, giving a comedic grin.

"And to think, you opposed of the idea to have him become a fighter in the first place." Mrs. Vernon said jokingly. Erica and Dan were wide-eyed.

"Wait, seriously? Lance never told us that!" Erica exclaimed. Mrs. Vernon laughed. "Well, look how well we all turned out? We're just happy you're here!"

Flare walked by to join the conversation. "Hey, do you think he might use the attack I taught him?" Mr. Vernon felt pretty confident that it was going to happen. Just as when he was about to answer Flare's question, Mary and Kyle started shouting about the show starting. The intro turned on and the analysts were talking about the big matches coming up, and they showed Lance vs. Henry. There were cheers in the house, but you could also hear cheers from outside, as other townspeople are tuning in to cheer on their hometown fighter. As the analysts are talking about their match, they talk about rumors of Lance being involved with major-leaguer Shawn. The house fell silent for a few seconds, until Kyle speaks up.

"Why is Lance getting himself into a love triangle?!" Everyone laughed except Mary and Kyle. "Ah, don't believe everything the media is saying. Knowing Lance, he probably stood up for Richard, hence why the confrontation they showed." Flare explained. Kyle and Mary's worries were washed away as the television analysts dismissed it. Everyone was waiting for the night to begin with a lot of high-stake matches, but were more interested in watching Lance.

 **Back in the Glitzville Minor-League Locker Room…**

Kevin is in the middle of his match, and appears to be struggling with Peter the Dark. Lance and Richard are watching in the locker room through the small television they have. Kevin looks more worn-out than Peter. _Man…this guy is fighting pretty well. Much better than last time, to be sure._ Peter looks ready to strike again. "I think it's time to finish this," Peter said confidently. The black cheep cheep was charging, hoping to bring a swift end to the match. _I have one more trick up my sleeve. Let's hope this works!_ Kevin hid in his shell, and looked to begin attacking head on. _C'mon…closer now._ He starts spinning his shell, and then Peter lunges himself for his special attack. _GOT 'EM._ "ICE SHELL!" Kevin shouts as he unleashes his new attack. His shell is covered in ice as he launches himself. Peter was surprised unexpectedly, and Kevin hits him directly in the stomach, freezing Peter, making him vulnerable. "MACH SHELL!" Kevin shouted, as he hits Peter multiple times with hard, precise shell hits on Peter, and very quickly. After the ice breaks, Peter yells in pain. _AHHHHHH!_ Kevin then leaps up and shouts "SHELL SLAM!" and slams himself on Peter and down to the ring. Peter was knocked out and couldn't get up. The gong was heard.

" **WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! THE STEEL-SHELLED MONARCH, KEVIN!**

The crowd roared with excitement as Jolene declared the winner. Lance and Richard were amazed on how Kevin pulled off the victory, as well as Lance's family and friends back home.

"That was an insane comeback! Kevin is on a roll!" Lance said excitedly. He was so pumped, he could hardly wait for his fight. _This is exactly why I became a fighter. Seeing stuff like this!_

"That Ice Shell attack was new. Him and Peter always put on a close match, so a lot of people enjoyed that one." Richard showed a strong smile, but in the back of his mind, he was worried for Lance, as his match was nearing.

 **Meanwhile, back in Petalburg…**

"Whoa! What a comeback!", Kyle exclaimed. "I thought for sure Peter had him this time!" His Dad laughed and shook his head.

"Well, it goes to show that overconfidence can be your downfall. I saw it in Peter's face. Kevin's a decent fighter. He's impressed me a lot. I wouldn't be surprised if he was in the major-league sometime soon.

"Hey Dad, is Lance coming up soon?" Dad looked through the paper he printed out. "Well, according to this, he's due up! Everyone, come on in! Lance's match is coming up!"

 **Back in Glitzville…**

Lance is getting ready for his match, until Kevin came in, returning from his match. "Hey fellas! Sorry I took a bit. Just had a precautionary follow-up with the doc." Richard and Lance were excited about his latest victory. "What is it, now? Seven wins in a row?" Kevin nodded in agreement. He's been tearing up the minor-league as of late, as he's been rising the ranks pretty quickly. Kevin explains to Lance how he was at Rank #37 just three weeks ago, but when one fighter racks up wins, so does his Rank. "If all things go toward your favor, you could be Rank #25!"

With all the excitement going on, a security guard walks in, asking for Lance. "Hey Lance? It's time for your match. Follow me, bub." Richard and Kevin turn serious towards Lance. "Well, I guess that's my cue. See you guys later!" Richard and Kevin wish Lance luck as he exited the door. Kevin looked into Richard's eyes. "Ready to put the plan into motion?" Richard nodded in acknowledgement. They headed out the locker room and headed towards the lobby.

Jolene is at the center if the ring. The crowd still buzzing for the epic comeback win from Kevin. Henry, waiting at the red door, and Lance, waiting at the blue door. Emily and her friends, Sarah, Teresa, and Allison look onward to see Lance fight for the first time. Back home, Lance's family and friends wait anxiously to see their son and hometown hero. Kevin and Richard are in the crowd as they stay on guard, and Prince Mush is in his box suite waiting to see what the new fighter is all about. Lastly, somewhere in the crowd, is Shawn, waiting for his chance to put his plan into action.

 _Alright, it's showdown time! My opponent isn't a pushover, for sure. Henry was a major-leaguer at one point. He took a leave of absence to help his family go through a rough time. But he's back, and people say he's stronger than ever. He needed to start over, and nothing is stopping him._

 _Except me, of course._

Jolene finally gets her microphone to introduce the fighters. "HELLO EVERYONE! I hope you all enjoyed that first match, because the second one of the day is an even BIGGER ONE! Introducing first, He had a promising career ahead of him, becoming Rank #7 at one point, until he took a leave of absence for an outside family matter. Now, this Shy Guy is back, and people say he's better than ever. He is the one, the ONLY…

 **THE IRON BULLDOZER, HENRY!**

The crowd goes absolutely insane. It was clear this guy was a favorite among the crowd. Lance feels a little overwhelmed. _So much for home-field advantage…_ The grey Shy Guy walks up into the ring. Although you can't see under that mask, people could just tell that he was all business out there. He was on a mission: Win. As the crowd finally calms down a bit, Jolene gets ready to introduce Lance. "And finally, his opponent. He's the new kid in town from Petalburg. Fresh off his win against The Goomba of Terror, Jacob, he wants to keep the momentum going. He easily defeated him, and he's got great potential. Will he live up to it? Some say this is his first real test. Give it up for…

 **THE CRUSADER OF DESTINY, LANCE!**

There's cheers in the crowd, but not as crazy as they were for Henry. It was still decent reception for the newcomer. Lance's company back home is watching on, but Mary seems worried. "Hey, what's with the crowd? They were super loud for Henry, so why not Lance?!" Dad and Flare laughed. "Henry was a fan-favorite before and after his leave of absence. If Lance wants to get more people by his side, he's gonna need to win tonight." Mary still felt uneasy. _Come on Lance…show these people your 8 years of training…_

Emily and her friends look on. She's nervous, wanting to see what Lance is truly made of. _Okay Lance. Show me your stuff._ Richard and Kevin looked on. _Let's see what this kid has been hiding from us._

Jolene backs up a few steps before starting the match. "Let's keep it clean, boys! Get yourselves ready to…"

 **BRAWWWWWWWWWL!**

The gong is sounded, and right away Henry rushes in for a quick attack. Lance blocks and dodges all of his attacks, and as he gains separation from Henry, brings out an attack of his own, but to no prevail; Henry blocks and dodges as well. They both jump away from each other to recollect themselves. "I heard you beat Jacob without breaking a sweat," Henry said. Lance nodded. "Yeah? I guess word travels fast." Henry laughed, and begun to charge in again. Lance, thinking he would do the same thing, readied himself defensively. Suddenly, Henry increases his speed, as he ends up hitting Lance with a swift, solid kick, knocking him off-guard. Henry continued his onslaught, but Lance recovered, after dodging and blocking a few attacks, grabs Henry's foot, and throws him to the ground. Before Henry could get up, Lance increases his own speed, hitting Henry consecutively, and as Lance hits him up, throws him down to the ground. _GAHHH! Caught be off-guard…this will be more interesting than I thought._ "Fire swing!" shouted Henry. His body starts heating up, and suddenly his hands are on fire. He moves in on Lance and hits him with a punch combination that would send Lance to the ground. _ACK! That stung…_ The crowd is on Henry's side, but it doesn't bother Lance. He immediately gets up and shouts, "DRAGON DANCE!" Lance begins to glow light-blue, and blue fire surrounds him. He charges after Henry, who also charges in, and a fierce exchange takes place. They seem to be even with each other, as each blocks attacks with their own. Their attacks are so fast; the crowd can barely keep up. Lance then thinks of an idea. He suddenly disappears using his speed to get behind Henry, who can't spot him. _What the- where did he go?!_ "DRAGON FURY!" _Oh sh-_ Lance shouts. He completes a combination attack of punches and kicks, and then as a shining outline of a dragon surrounds him, Lance slams Henry HARD into the ground. Henry shouts in pain. "AHHHHHH!" The crowd is stunned, trying to figure out how Lance got behind him. _How…how in the world did he…I didn't even…see him!_ Henry gets up, seemingly angrier than hurt. _Looks like I need to step things up. Time to do some real damage._

"Ha! One of Lance's signature maneuvers!" Flare exclaims. The whole house is filled with cheers for Lance, as he seemingly has the upper hand at the current moment. Meanwhile, Emily is wide-eyed while her friends cheered. _Whoa…that was amazing!_

"Well, kid, I think I owe you an apology." Henry says to Lance. "It seems you're much more talented than I originally anticipated. But I think it's time you finally learn why I was Rank #7 at one point." _Then show me, Henry. I've been waiting for you to show your true power. I know you're holding back._

Henry begins to glow yellow, and his speed increases tenfold. Lance couldn't see him as he's hit viscously with a hard punch to the gut. Henry then lands a combination of punches and kicks and shouts "FIRE SERPENT!" He drives through Lance multiple times with scorching speed and powerful force, and knocks Lance to the ground, as he screams in pain. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The crowd cheers in excitement, chanting Henry's name. _UGH…That one was new….did he…ugh…learn that recently…? Ugh…it hurts…but I'll live._ Lance starts to get up slowly, but Henry is aggressive, as he charges in again. Lance then backflips away from his attack to gain room, but it's no use; he's knocked to the floor again. _Damn it! He has me pinned down! Okay Lance, time to use what Flare taught you!_ Lances gets up even slower, but Henry shows his aggression, but Lance shouts "FIREY BARRAGE!" The attack name draws a reaction from the crowd. Lance ducks under Henry's assault and delivers a damaging punch to the gut of Henry, then an explosion of fire follows. "GRAHHHHHHHHH!" Henry screams. _Did…did he…say what…I think he said? Firey…BARRAGE?!_ Jolene was even in shock. Everyone finally realized that Lance knew Flare's legendary attack. _No…NO! I WONT LET THIS HAPPEN!_

Henry gets up quickly to assault Lance, but he was too quick. He dodged the attack and shouted "DRAGON TEMPEST!" His dragon silhouette returns, as his fists are covered in blue fire. Lance increases his speed so much; the crowd could barely see him. He lands many punches and kicks to Henry, and drop kicks him right to the ground. "UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Henry shouts in severe pain. The crowd explodes, as this fight continues to intensify. Henry is slowly getting back up, as he appears weak. "How…how did you…learn Firey Barrage? How are you…so fast…? No one…should be that fast…" He asks Lance. He just simply replies, "Eight long years of training. Flare was around my neighborhood, so it was pretty cool." Henry laughs in acknowledgement, as he charges up for one last attack. _Alright…time to see if you can match THIS._ "SHY GUY LIGHTSPEED!" Henry shouts. Lance is surprised he can muster this much strength. He's moving so quickly and hitting him that he can't see him. _GRAHHHHH! At this rate, I won't last much longer!_ Right when Henry is about to charge in again, Lance shouts, "FIREY BARRAGE!" again, but this time, it affects Henry. He starts slowing down, and he can't believe it. _HE…HE KNOWS HOW TO CONTROL FIREY BARRAGE LIKE THAT?! NOOOOOO!_ Lance then unleashes a powerful attack. "HYPER DRAGON THRUST!" As he shouts, his arm and fist turn blue, and he thrusts right into Henry, creating an explosion covering the ring. As the smoke clears, Lance and Henry are standing for a few moments, but Henry collapses. The gong is heard, and the crowd erupts in amazement and disbelief as Jolene shouts:

 **WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! THE CRUSADER OF DESTINY, LANCE!**

Richard and Kevin jump up in excitement, Emily is jumping up and down cheering, and meanwhile in Petalburg, the Vernon household cheers on, unbelievably witnessing Lance's victory. In that moment, Lance lays down out of exhaustion, with his fists up in the air signaling his accomplishing victory. The crowd starts chanting Lance's name now. He gets up to check on Henry, who is barely up on his two feet. Lance offers his hand for a handshake, and Henry obliges. The crowd roars again.

Just then a shadowy figure climbs to the stage. Richard and Kevin notice it and jump into the ring right away. The shadowy figure is Shawn, who is trying to sabotage Lance. Shawn is right behind Lance, as he says "Hello, Lance." Lance looks back, and when he does, Shawn's fist is met with Lance's face, and he falls to the ground. Boos from the crowd ensue. His friends are about to do more to Lance, but Richard and Kevin show up in front of them, making them unable to do the dirty deed.

 **Meanwhile in Petalburg…**

"HEY! Seriously?! What the heck is this guy's problem?!" Mrs. Vernon screams. Everyone seems caught off guard, when suddenly, Lance gets Shawn right back, and security is forced to hold them back. "This guy is a jerk! Who is he, Flare?!" Flare sighed, "That's Shawn. The most egotistical fighter that ever lived." Everyone just looks on. "Mom. I wanna RIP THIS GUYS FACE OFF." yells Mary.

As everything calms down, everyone returns to their respective locker room, who each get a warning. Lance is just fuming with anger. "IS HE LEGIT?! I WANNA PIECE OF HIM." Richard attempts to calm him down. "Hey. You need to relax and cool your jets, first." Emily then comes rushing in. "LANCE," she cried. "Are you okay?! Why would he do that to you?!" Emily looked worried sick.

"Emily, I'm fine. I'm more ticked off than hurt honestly," Lance huffed. "But man, Henry is ONE tough dude. He threw some things that I never seen before.

"Yeah, dude! That fight was the best we've seen in the minor-league! It even topped some major-league fights! People are gonna be talking about this one for awhile.

Lance's mind is still on Shawn. Richard notices it, too. "Hey, we'll deal with him tomorrow. Let's just enjoy the night, man. _I sure hope I can do. I's so angry, I can barely keep myself from exploding._

From that point on, Lance knew he wasn't dealing with just a bully. He's dealing with a rival. He's dealing with someone who's the total opposite of him. Their tensions can never be higher. What's next for Lance? How will he respond to Shawn? Only time will tell.

~End of Chapter 4


	5. Boiling Point

**Chapter 5: Boiling Point**

In the locker room, Lance is up before anybody else. He glances at the clock as it says 5:22 AM. He throws on some casual clothing on with a jacket with a hood over his head, he leaves a note for Richard and Kevin and leaves to take a walk to think about things. As he's walking around, he notices a few stores ready to open, prepping for another day here in Glitzville. There's a few people walking around here and there, but not as much as it usually is. Lance sees a cafe that's open, and he realizes it's the same place he and Emily went when they went out just a couple days ago. He walks in and sits at the front counter. He's not waiting for anybody; just sitting and thinking as what has transpired with Shawn. He keeps having flashbacks to the encounters with Emily, after Richard's match, the hallway, and then to last night. As he's pondering, deep in thought, a voice is heard from a distance.

"Good morning, sir! How may I help you today?" As Lance looks up, taking off his hood, the waitress recognizes him right away. "Oh! I know you. You're Lance, right?" the young, yellow Toad asked. She has a typical waitress outfit on with short, brunette hair. Lance looked confused. He's never seen this girl before, but how does she know him?

Lance, thinking not to be rude, firmly asks, "I'm sorry, but have we met?" The young Toad giggles.

"Oh no, we haven't. My friend Emily has talked about you recently," she responded. "My name is Sarah. I work the morning shift here." Lance feels a little guilty as he thought he was rude to her.

"Oh, geez! I'm sorry I got so defensive," Lance said as he apologized. "It's been a rollercoaster these past couple days." Sarah laughed again. "It's fine!" she responded. Lance still had a gloomy look in his face.

 _Sigh, what a roadblock this is. Shawn has the media wrapped around his finger, and knowing Emily's friend here, she's probably mad about how they're treating her. I just wish there was a way to have one day of freedom from all this. Dad talked about this kind of stuff, saying I need to stay out of other's affairs, but always told me to do what I truly thought was right. Now that I'm thinking about it, the night of Richard's fight, was what I did REALLY the right thing to do?_

 _Can I…really handle this?_ Lance began to doubt himself.

Sarah looked worried. "Hey, are you okay? Something on your mind?" she questioned. Lance looked up to her, as she had a serious look on her face. He looked down, like he was ashamed of something. "Look, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine, but just so you know, any friend of Emily's is a friend of mine. Knowing Emily, she'll realize it, too, and she'll ask you the same thing. So please, tell me: What's wrong?" Lance saw that Sarah cared. He sighed as he began to open to her.

"You probably know what has been going on. Shawn's been making life hell for Emily and for myself. Ever since I shoved him after he was beating on Richard, he's been telling the media some insane things, and they're buying into it. I know you can't listen to the media all the time, but it's been taking a toll on not only me, but her, too. At least I think it is." Lance explained. Sarah listened to every word. She pondered for a few moments until she responded with her opinion.

"You're right," she started. "Emily can't stand it either. She's strong, though. She talked to me last night balling her eyes out about the whole thing after we left. She put on such a strong face, I couldn't even tell something was wrong. That was a first for any of us. Honestly though, if she didn't speak highly of you, I would have my doubts about you."

 _Gee, than- wait what?! She speaks highly of me? About what? Ever since I delved into her ex's affairs, I figured she wouldn't like me all that much._

"I will say this though," Sarah continued. "I can see that you mean well. I'm pretty sure you didn't want any of this to happen. Nobody does, come to think of it. What I ALSO see is doubt written all over your face." _Was it that obvious? Oh man, here we go._

"One thing's for sure," Sarah stated. "That Shawn is an ass. Seriously, he's an egotistical prick, and wasn't very good to Emily. He's lucky I never got to smack him silly. Anyway, moral of the story, stay true to yourself. Things manage to work themselves out, even when you least expect it." Lance felt better about himself. He started to smile, and Sarah as well.

"Hey, thanks for the talk and the advice. I really needed that. You're a pretty cool person." Sarah giggled, as she blushed.

"My pleasure," she said as she collected herself. "Now, since that's all over and done with, what would you like?"

Lance ordered his usual coffee with cream, as well as a breakfast sandwich on the side. As the clock worked around 6:00 AM, customers started to make their way through the café. Some recognized Lance as they discussed what's been going on with current events, all of which are currently on his side when regarding the issues with Shawn.

Meanwhile in the locker room, Kevin and Richard both wake up, and realize Lance isn't there. As they wonder where he could've went, they see a note on the door. It said:

 _I'll be at Joel's Café if you wanna stop by. -Lance_

Lance is eating his breakfast sandwich as Richard and Kevin walk in. There are cheers in the café as they're congratulated on the victories last night. They sit beside Lance as they look at what they want to order.

"Hey man, how are you holding up?" Kevin asked, concerned. Lance smiled with confidence.

"I'm doing better," Lance responded. I met Sarah and her and I talked about it. She's friends with Emily. Just needed to clear my head, that's all."

"Thank god." Richard said with a little smirk. "Or else we'd have to feed ya to the press again to shape you up!" They all laughed as they enjoyed their breakfast. Kevin has an omelet and Richard has his usual bagel with cream cheese.

Lance right then and there cuts right to the chase. "So, what do you guys think of the whole Shawn situation?"

"To be honest, I don't know." Richard retorted. "I think it all depends how much Jolene gets annoyed by it. It's at least caught her undivided attention by now, it seems. When she gives warnings, she means business."

Lance nodded in agreement. As the three finish up and pay their bill, Sarah caught them before they left. "Hey guys! Make sure to kick some major butt today!" she exclaimed. The other customers cheered in agreement as they walked out.

"Hey Lance, I think you finally have some fans!" Kevin joked.

"Yeah, and your make-believe section is still empty it seems!" Lance joked back.

"Hey man, that's cold! I'll make sure to get you back for that one!" Kevin said, astounded, but amused.

As the three joked their way back to the locker room, Jolene was waiting for them. She had a much more serious look than she usually does. Lance was a little nervous. _Oh crap, she isn't too happy._

"I see you guys are still cheerful, considering what happened last night," Jolene said in an annoyed tone. The fighters fell silent, not knowing how to respond to the statement she made. Kevin finally chimed in.

"I guess so. Getting under Shawn's skin was a lot of fun yesterday. You should-" Richard elbowed him, whispering "Enough" to him, seeing that Jolene was already bothered by it enough.

"Regardless what happened, it's become a much bigger issue. First thing's first: Your matches today. Richard, you get a Major-League shot tonight. Kevin, you moved up to Rank #25, but you'll be defending your spot against Rank #26 The Vines of Judgement, Vernon." Jolene then turned to Lance, who was waiting for his matchup. Jolene looked at him deep in the eye and said, "And Lance? Come with me. We need to talk." The room falls into an awkward silence. Jolene walked out, and behind her was Lance, who had a worried look on his face. Kevin was worried.

"Oh crap, is he gonna get suspended?!" asked Kevin. Richard chuckled as he said, "No, you would have to try really hard to get suspended, dude. I think she's just concerned with what's been going on with Shawn. I would be, too."

Meanwhile, Lance follows Jolene into her office. Her assistant is handling paperwork as they walk by. Once they both sit down in the office, Jolene took a deep breath. Lance had no idea what was going to happen. _Jolene, just spit it out already. Suspension? Fine? Special orders, or something? I knew this wasn't gonna end well._ "Lance," she started. "This whole thing with Shawn is getting ridiculous. I know he can be kind of a jerk, but seriously, what's the big deal? I just want to know. Are you trying to prove a point?" Lance looked surprised, as he thought he was in trouble. He cleared his throat as he was about to speak.

"Well, he's been spreading lies about myself and a friend to the media, and they've been eating it up. It also doesn't help that he had two other people try and jump me just yesterday. Please tell me you saw that." Lance responded defensively. Jolene had a puzzled look on her face, trying to decipher what exactly is going on.

"I saw some of that." Jolene agreed. "I also saw that you didn't throw any punches either. I thank you for that, as usually a fight breaks out. However, what happened in the ring last night after you match was uncalled for. Your retaliation was expected, but I don't think this whole situation should've happened in the first place. If I had to guess, he's had it out for you since you stood up for Richard. Am I right?" _I mean she isn't wrong, but isn't one hundred percent right. I wonder if bringing up the whole incident with Emily would help._

"I would like to believe that," Lance responded. "but there's a little more to it than that. You see, I met someone named Emily after my first match. We went to the café nearby and just talked. Next thing you know, Shawn comes in. I find out that Emily is his ex-boyfriend. He got defensive with me, which was natural, but he was also being rude to Emily in the first place." Jolene's expression got worse. It went from puzzled to angry quick.

"You got to be kidding me, right?" she said with anger. "All this over a GIRL?!" Lance struggled to find a response.

"N-no! Jolene, don't get the wrong idea! We just met! We were just getting to know each other, that's all! You must believe me. Ever since that, Shawn's been telling the media that I have a "thing" with her and has blown it out of proportion!" Jolene looked at Lance dead in the eye. She could see the sincerity in them, as he's pleading for her understanding. She calms down and sighs.

"Don't worry Lance, I believe you." Jolene said calmly. "I'm calling Shawn in after I make my rounds around the locker rooms. I just want you to try and avoid him as much as possible, even though that might be inevitable, now that the media is involved." Lance felt relieved. His sigh of relief told the entire story to Jolene. "Now, here's your match tonight. You bumped up to Rank #37 after that big victory against Henry. You'll be facing Rank #36 The Shell of Grit, Nick." _The purple Dizzy Koopa, huh?_ "One last thing, Lance," as she says as Lance was getting up. "I might be at my wits end if something else happens tonight. This isn't a warning, but take it as you will." Lance nods in understanding as he leaves her office.

 _Sigh, what a situation we have here. I can't really say much about the media: It's the media. What I'm more concerned about is how Shawn is involved. Knowing him when he walks in here, he'll probably bring up some lame excuse for his actions. Whatever transpires between now and tomorrow morning will shape what I have in store for those two._

Lance returns to the locker room and tells Richard and Kevin what happened. Kevin sounds relieved, but Richard wasn't surprised. "See Kevin, I told you he would be fine." Richard stated. Kevin just rolled his eyes. "Anyway, who do you got tonight?" Richard questioned, changing the subject.

"I got Nick tonight." Lance responded. "Isn't he new, too? I heard he joined two weeks before I did." Kevin nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, you're right. Both of you are undefeated, too, which is the most interesting part. You might actually draw an interesting crowd tonight." Kevin responded jokingly. Lance gave him a light shove in response. "Hey, my crowd is still bigger than your imaginary section you have!" Lance responded with a comedic smirk. They all laughed as they joked about one another. They left the locker room to walk around town, which Lance has yet to do since he got here.

As they're walking around town, the three are getting stares here and there from passerby, but mostly are towards Lance. He became annoyed quickly. "Sigh, seriously, what's with the looks today? It's like I committed a crime. What's next, some dumb rumor that relates with Emily?" Lance complained. Kevin laughed at his response when suddenly, they see a T.V that has both Lance and Emily on it, as they walked over, their eyes widened, like they saw a ghost.

"This just in! Emily was spotted walking into Lance's locker room yesterday afternoon, along with Richard and Kevin. Is there a double love triangle? Just what is this girl into? Karley Koopa will give her thoughts on the matter in a few minutes!" said the reporter on the T.V.

Lance was speechless. From what he was complaining about came true. Kevin and Richard just stood there quietly, until Richard spoke up. "What the hell. This is a low blow, even for Shawn."

Lance quickly turned his head to where Richard and Kevin were standing. "Are you sure this is coming from him?" Lance questioned, not wanted his nightmare to become a reality.

"Lance, come on. Use your head. The media wasn't even talking about you until your little feud with Shawn started." Kevin retorted. Lance went deep into thought.

 _He makes a good point. Is Shawn's ego that hurt than he tends to make me clinically insane by the end of the day? I'm sick and tired of all this. I'm settling this today, one way or another, once and for all. It's time that he's finally taught a lesson. Sorry Jolene, but it's gotta be done._

Lance clenched his fists as he made his decision. Reporters spotted him, and they started coming toward them quickly. Lance motioned Richard and Kevin to go back toward the locker room. Unfortunately, a reported caught up with them and approached Lance. "Lance, what can you say about your relationship with Emily?" Lance ignored the question and many others as they entered the hallway where the locker rooms are. Right as they're about to go in, Lance sees Shawn out of the corner of his eye, laughing with a fellow major-leaguer. Richard realizes who Lance sees. "Don't do it, dude. I know you're ang-" Lance ignored his warning and started running toward Shawn.

Shawn hears footsteps and is surprised Lance is approaching him. Lance gets to him, grabs him by the shirt and pins him against the wall. "Whoa, Lance! What seems to be the problem?" Shawn asked with a smirk on his face. Lance wouldn't have any of Shawn's taunting smirk anymore.

"Shut up. You know what the damn problem is. I know what you said to the media. I'm not dumb." Lance responded in anger. Shawn wasn't fazed however. Shawn then laugh as loud as he could, as if he couldn't help it.

"Really?" Shawn whispering, still chuckling. "What in the world are you gonna do about it? Oh yeah. NOTHING. You can't do a DAMN thing, ESPECIALLY in front of everyone here. And you wanna know why? It's because you're a filthy minor-leaguer. You won't get anywhere. So many people had the same attitude like you, and you're just the same." Lance looked down after hearing those words. The reporters, cameramen, and other fighters are looking in suspense. "Aww, what's wrong? Are we gonna cry?" Shawn said, taunted him.

Just then, something inside Lance snapped. He slowly looked up to Shawn, with his own cocky, smirky smile. "There's one thing you should know about me, Shawn," Lance said with a controlled voice. "I'm much more different than those fighters. You wanna know why? Because you did something you never should have done, and you'll regret it for a long, long time."

Shawn just scoffed at Lance. "And what exactly is that?" Lance put Shawn down from against the wall.

"You pissed me off." Right after Lance said that, he lands a hard punch on Shawn's face, ensuing a brawl in the hallway. It's utter chaos as Lance, Shawn, and his major-league friend are going at it. Reporters and cameramen are trying to get decent shots, but the other fighters lead them out of the hallway. Security is trying to break everything up, but Lance and Shawn are still going at it, making it too rough for anyone to jump in. Shawn's friend tries to jump in, but is met by Richard, and Kevin is still standing there, in shock.

Just then, Jolene comes in and lets out a loud, piercing scream that echoed throughout the Glitz Pit.

 _ **ENOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!**_

Shawn and Lance stop right away after hearing Jolene. Her face was about as red as her outfit she wears when in the ring. "I DON'T CARE WHAT'S GOING ON, BUT ALL OF YOU BETTER GO TO YOUR LOCKER ROOMS, OR SO HELP ME, THERE WILL BE RAMIFICATIONS, NO QUESTIONS ASKED, PERIOD. IS THAT CLEAR?!" Suddenly, the entire hallway clears out in a matter of seconds as they go back to their locker rooms. Jolene let out a big sigh. _What in the WORLD am I gonna do with those two?! It's not like they can't fight each other yet. Wait a minute…_ Jolene goes back to her office thinking of ways to deal with this.

Meanwhile, Lance is back in his locker room with Kevin and Richard, along with a few other fighters. Lance is still angry, Richard looks worried, and Kevin looks as if he's still trying to comprehend what happened just like the other minor-leaguers. It was silent for a few short minutes until another fighter said something.

"Y'know, that was the most amazing thing I ever saw," said a familiar voice. Lance looked over and it was Jacob, the Goomba of Terror who was Lance's first opponent. Lance looked confused. As Lance was about to say something, he sensed that he had more to say, as Jacob was looking right at him. "For someone who's just starting here, I'm impressed you stood up for yourself, and many others in the minor-league see that. I've seen a couple newcomers with big dreams like you come in. Then, people like Shawn make them feel like they're nothing. I've been through it, too, but this isn't about me. It's about you and your resilience."

The other fighters nodded in agreement. Jacob looked at Kevin, as if he was trying to tell him to say something. Kevin picks up on it as he follows up by saying, "He's right, you know. Most people would've just given up once the media kicked in. Never seen somebody go through so much abuse and still trucked along."

Lance was deep in thought. Then, another fighter chimed in. It was a purple Koopa Troopa with purple sunglasses. "Honestly, I don't know why or how this whole thing with Shawn started, but I'm glad you knocked his head in. Seriously, that was awesome."

Chuckles echoed in the room. As soon as the koopa troopa was going to continue, Jolene walked in with security. "Nick and Lance? You fight is up next. Lance, you'll be getting an escort from security in case Shawn or his goonies have any dumb ideas. Surely you understand." Lance nodded, and noticed that the Koopa Troopa who was talking to him was his opponent for the evening.

 _Talk about intense. I never even knew Shawn was like this. Something about his whole demeanor bothers me, though. He started two years ago and was one of the best up-and-comers the Glitz Pit has seen in years, and he was in line for a shot at the title. Did he grow a big head because of his status?_

Back home in Petalburg, Lance's Mom and Dad watch on TV what the latest gossip is about before the Glitz Pit is kicked off. They see the storylines about Lance about his latest encounter with Shawn. Flare has a smirk on his face while Mr. Vernon is concerned. He turns to Flare and sees his face. "Why are you laughing at that?" he asked. Flare continued to grin. "It seems to me that Shawn has been going at him for days now. I started digging and found this on the internet about recent rumors." Flare hands him the tabloid article that he brought with. After seeing it, Mr. Vernon started to understand. "It's basically a bully being a bully. Lance has dealt with these people before. I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Flare explained.

Meanwhile at the Glitz Pit Arena, Jolene is about to introduce the first fight of the night. The crowd was as loud as it could be.

"Good evening everyone, and welcome back for another night at the Glitz Pit! Tonight, we're starting off with a bang, as two undefeated newcomers battle it out for rank in the minor-league! Introducing first, he's a perfect 5-0 to start his career, and considering how convincing his wins have been, fight fans have begun to take notice. HE'S THE ONE, THE ONLY…

 _ **RANKED #36 IN THE GLITZ PIT, THE SHELL OF GRIT, NICK!**_

The arena is followed by loud cheers for Nick, the purple Koopa Troopa. He looks intense and ready to go as he has a grin on his face. He spots someone he knows in the crowd and gives a quick wave. Out of the corner of his eye, however, he spots Shawn in the center section. He doesn't give it too much thought as he focuses on his match.

"And finally, this fighter is ALSO undefeated at 3-0, as he picked up an impressive victory over Henry, the Iron Bulldozer. He's the newest of our fighters, but he packs QUITE a wallop. INTRODUCING…

 _ **THE CRUSADER OF DESTINY, LANCE!**_

The crowd just erupts with excitement as they remember his match against Henry. Fans start chanting his name in succession, which makes Lance even more pumped. He spots Emily and her friend, Sarah, whom he met this morning. He nods to them, acknowledging them. They both smile, although Sarah does so while blushing at the same time. Just like Nick, he sees Shawn sitting in the crowd out of the corner of his eye.

Emily turns to Sarah as she sees her blushing. "Why are you blushing? You're so weird!" Emily exclaimed, poking some fun onto her friend

Sarah just brushed it off. "I've never had a fighter see me specifically and recognize me is all!" as she says, twirling her hair.

As both fighters face each other, Nick just says "Show me what you're truly capable of." Then back to each other, and back off. Jolene is about to sound the gong.

"Let's keep it clean, boys! GET YOURSELVES READY TO…."

 _ **BRAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!**_

As the gong is heard, Nick immediately starts charging at Lance, throwing both punches and kicks, but Lance dodges them easily. Just as Lance is to start his counter attack, Nick launches up in the air in his shell, spinning around. Lance, standing there confused, backs up as he doesn't know what to expect.

 _I don't know a single thing about this guy. Might as well start on the defensive to get a read on this guy._

Just then, Nick shouts "THUNDER SHELL!" and a zap of lightning hits Lance very quickly. As Lance is stunned, Nick bursts on in with a flurry of punches and kicks, and performs a shell slam on Lance.

 _UGH! What in the world…?! Who knew a Dizzy Koopa could learn how to use lightning?!_

Lance gets up quickly, as he readies himself. Nick appears behind him, as he never noticed. He knocks Lance down with another shell slam. _ARGH! How did he appear behind me?! And so quickly?!_ Lance gets up again, looking at Nick. "Is this gonna be the whole match? Come on, now." Nick says confidently. _If that's how you're gonna play, then so be it._

Lance settles down and starts attacking Nick, however, he's dodging all of his punches and kicks. Nick slips away from Lance and gets behind him. As he performs another shell slam, Lance notices he's behind him again, and grabs the shell, stopping him from moving he throws him up and hits him with a drop kick. "UGH! Impressive." _That did something. He's using his elusiveness as a Dizzy Koopa to get behind me. Interesting…_

As Nick gets up, he doesn't see Lance anywhere. The crowd is astonished as Lance is behind him, and starts wailing on Nick. "DRAGON FURY!" Lance shouts, as he starts glowing blue, landing punches and kicks in succession, and slams him down on the ground. "UGHHHHHHHHHHH!" _That speed…! It's no joke. That…did more than expected…ugh!_ _But this is FAR from over! Time to increase MY speed!_ "KOOPA TAILWIND!" Nick shouted, and very quickly charges lance as their fists and feet meet each other, matching each other. Exchanging blow for blow, they both finally connect with punches at the same time. Lance to his gut, and Nick to his chest. Suddenly, Lance shouts "DRAGON DANCE!" Still glowing blue, he's then surrounded by blue fire, and yet another fierce exchange takes place. Both fighters are hitting their marks, but Lance gets the best of him as he combos a punch and knee, and then throws him up. Right when he shouts "SERPENT DRA-" Nick shouts "SHELLSHOCK!" Nick retreats inside his shell and lightning strikes it. Lance gets heavily damages as he was right next to that attack. "AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" _Did he just-_ Nick does not waste any time as he jumps up and shouts "SHELL BARRAGE!" With blazing speed, Nick inflicts more damage as he continuously hits Lance in succession as he hits Lance from multiple directions. "UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" _He…sure doesn't waste any….time to…strike!_ Lance is slow to get up on one knee, with the crowd going crazy for Nick.

Richard and Kevin look on, concerned. "Geez, this guy is GOOD. He knew exactly where Lance would be in that point in time." Kevin explained. Richard nodded.

"I wouldn't call it just yet. Let's see if Lance can turn this around." Richard says with confidence.

Emily and Sarah have scared looks on their faces. "Is…he okay, Emily?" Sarah asked. Emily couldn't say anything. All she could do is watch the whole match unfold.

Back in Petalburg, Flare waits in suspense. "I think it's time he'd bring out the fury. Don'tcha think, kids?" Mary and Kyle look on, as Mr. Vernon sits patiently.

The crowd chanting Nick's name now, as Lance gets up. Nick surprised he could get up so quickly. _This guy has guts, I'll give him that. I'll just have to amp it up to finish this._ Lance suddenly starts glowing blue. _What's this? He didn't say anything, and he isn't attacking. What's he up to?_

Lance turns around and faces Nick. The crowd reacts to him, as Shawn's attention is grabbed right on Lance. "You said you wanted me to give it my all…right?" Lance says heavily. Nick has a confused look on his face.

"Yes, I did. You don't appear to be doing so and it's cost you the match, I say. Unless you have something up your sleeve, of course." Nick states, confident in his position.

"Lance just smirks, chuckling to himself. "I don't think I can do that for you." Nick is unamused by his remark. "However...I can give you…" Lance appears behind him in a mere millisecond and said, "I can give you a taste." Lance hits Nick with a flurry of combinations of punches and kicks. Nick, trying to keep up, can't see Lance. _WH-WHERE IN THE WORLD IS HE?!_ Lance reappears in front of him and shouts "DRAGON TEMPEST!" A silhouette of a dragon forms around him as he starts wailing attacking combinations with punches and kicks, and slams him with a drop kick. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Nick screamed in pain. _THIS IS ONLY A TASTE?!_ The crowd roared so loud, it felt like the building shook.

Shawn looks in disbelief. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Richard and Kevin looked on in the locker room in shock, seeing how he was so fast, they couldn't see him.

Emily and Sarah's jaws were dropped to express how amazed they were, and in Petalburg, Flare and Mr. Vernon were cheering very loudly. Mary and Kyle couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Nick kept charging at Lance, throwing punches and kicks, but Lance was too fast for him. In a last-ditch effort, he shouted "THUNDER SHELL! Lightning struck, created a smokescreen. Lance was nowhere to be seen, as he was behind Nick. "NO! I WON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! MACH SHELL!" _Interesting…_ One of the fastest attacks to learn, he charges into Lance with his shell. As he lunged into him, the crowd couldn't believe what they saw. Lance stopped his attack, shell in his hands. "How…How is that even possible…?" _Time to finish this._ Lance throws him up and shouts "HYPER DRAGON THRUST!" His arm and fist turn blue, and thrusts right through Nick, creating an explosion. As the smoke clears, Lance is standing over top of Nick, who laid down on the ground, unable to get up. The gong had sounded. The crowd roared in excitement and amazement.

 _ **WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! THE CRUSADER OF DESTINY, LANCE!**_

Emily, Sarah, Kevin, Richard, and Lance's family all jump up, cheering in excitement for Lance's win.

Nick gets up and whispers "you are insanely good. Keep it up, dude." They shake hands and as they leave the ring, Jolene calls Lance over. He whispers something in his ear, and looks in astonishment. He then goes back to the locker room, high-fiving fans on his way. In the locker room, he's greeted by Kevin and Richard, who are psyched about what they saw.

"DUDE! THAT WAS INSAAAAANE! THAT WAS UNBELIEVABLE!" Kevin shouted. "How are you able to MOVE like that?!"

Lance chuckles. "You can ask my Dad. It's pretty insane." He responds. Richard pats him on the back and congratulates him.

"That was the most amazing thing I've seen. You're going places. I just know it." Lance thanked him for the compliments. _This kid just keeps amazing me every day. I sure hope everyone watched that match, because look out: We have the Next Big Thing._

Later that night, Kevin and Lance would later win their matches, as they win convincingly. They go out to the smoothie bar to celebrate. Sarah and Emily join as well, and their other friend Veronica, a yellow Koopa Troopa, joins as well. Fans recognize the fighters as they yell out cheers for Richard, Lance, and Kevin.

Lance notices the paparazzi is nowhere to be found. "Heh, where's the media now?" Sarah knocks on wood.

"Hey! Don't jinx it!" Sarah exclaims. They all laugh it off. _You're…such a doofus. Hee hee!_

Emily noticed a mark on Lance's upper shoulder. "Lance, your arm!"

Lance glances over to his left upper shoulder. There's a medium-sized bruise on it. "Oh wow, would you look at that? Mustve been from one of Nick's Shellshock. I'll be fine, Emily." _You just noticed it?! You're so silly!_ Emily laughs embarrassingly as she blushes.

The night ends as everyone goes back to their homes and locker rooms. As everyone goes to bed, Kevin notices Lance has a determined look on his face. "Hey bro. You doing alright? Still pumped from your win?" Lance looked over to Kevin, nodding his head.

"Yeah, pretty much. Jolene also said I have the day off tomorrow, too. Oh, and my family is coming up tomorrow." Lance retorted. Kevin smiled.

"Hey, that sounds good to me! Do your R&R tomorrow and you'll be ready to go in no time. Can't wait to embarrass you in front of your family! HA!" Kevin responded in a humorous tone. Richard chimed in.

"Oh behave yourself. You might learn something for once, Kev." They all laughed and went to bed, while Lance thought to himself.

 _Yeah…I might be off tomorrow, but the next day is gonna be even bigger than the last couple days._

 _ **Get ready, Shawn. It's time to settle everything for once and for all.**_

 **End of Chapter 5**


	6. Wild Game of Survival

_**Author's Note: Hey guys! This is the longest chapter I have ever written. It's been a long time coming, as I've put literal months into this chapter. I hope you enjoy it, because it's a doozy! As always, feedback is always appreciated! Hope my pacing has improved!**_

 _Chapter 6: Wild Game of Survival_

It's 6:47 AM, as Kevin and Richard are up at their usual joint at the café, however, Lance is not with then, being as it's his day off, he gets to sleep in, and rightfully deserved. Kevin and Richard ponder about Lance's match yesterday. Sarah is working the morning shift again, as she is being bombarded by customers, although this is nothing to her. As people come and go, it gives Sarah a little time to catch up with Richard and Kevin.

"Hey boys, how's the food treatin' ya?" she said with a smile. Richard and Kevin give thumbs up as they finish eating.

"The best as always, Sarah. Give regards to Cook Alan. He hasn't missed a beat." Richard said proudly, sipping his routine coffee.

Sarah notices Lance hasn't shown up yet. "Hey, where's Lance? Isn't he usually with you guys?" she wondered, concerned.

Kevin had a smirk on his face, like he always does when he thinks of a witty remark. "Oh, I get it! You have the hots for him, don't you?!" Kevin says jokingly. Sarah's face turns red, blushing.

"N-No! Geez, Kevin, you're such a jerk!" she says weakly. She starts twirling her hair, feeling embarrassed. Kevin laughs as he sees her reaction. Richard rolls his eyes.

"Relax, Sarah. He was still asleep when we left. He told us he had the day off last night, according to Jolene." Right when Richard says that, Jolene walks through the door of the café, mug and papers in hand. _Oh. Speaking of which…_

Jolene finds Richard and Kevin and goes right where they are sitting. "Good morning, boys. Still harassing Sarah, Kevin?" Kevin's face showed astonishment.

"Ms. Jolene, I would NEVER!" he said sarcastically. Jolene immediately fired back.

"You know, they say the ones you make fun of the most are the ones you like the most. It's just a perspective of mine, don't take it too hard." Richard and Sarah burst out laughing as Jolene smiled as she said that. Kevin had to stand so he wouldn't fall over. After everyone recomposed themselves, Jolene cleared her throat. "Alright, now it's time for business. Richard, as Rank #20, you get to face Rank #19 Kayleigh for your first Major-League match. Kevin? As Rank #25, you'll get to face #23 Bandy Andy. Any problems for today's matches, gentlemen?" Kevin and Richard both shook their heads. As Jolene gathers her things, she pauses. "Oh, and before I forget, Lance has the day off today, in case you're wondering."

"Ah, thanks Jolene. Have a good one now, ya hear?" Kevin replied. Jolene nodded as she exited the café. Kevin looks at Richard confused. "I don't remember anybody getting a day off in the first week. Isn't that odd?" He said. Richard nodded in agreement, but he dismissed it.

"Ah, give the kid a break. He's been dealing with Shawn the Jock since Day 1, and I'm pretty sure it's taken a toll on him." Suddenly, Shawn walks in the café with a pressing look on his face. He sees Richard and Kevin, but he just sneers at them and walks by. Richard notices how no one is with him. "Now that's odd. None of his goons are with him. Usually, there's somebody with him." Kevin chuckled.

"Maybe they got a divorce, HA!" Richard chuckled while Kevin laughed louder. They decided to downplay the scenario and finish their breakfast. As they make their way back to the locker room, they see that Lance isn't there anymore. They found a note on his locker.

 _Hey guys, I'm going be out for most of the day. With the family coming, I just thought I'd prepare them a little something before they get here this afternoon. I'm also going to be out training today, too. If you want to come by the Hamma Hotel by around 3 to meet my family, I'll be waiting._

 _-Lance_

 _ **Meanwhile, on a Blimp to Glitzville…**_

Lance's Mom and Dad, his brother Kyle, and sister Mary are looking out as they wait to arrive in Glitzville. Mary, 18, had a concerned look on her face, more worried for Lance, if anything. As she kept hearing the rumors about Lance piling up, she couldn't help pondering what is true and what is false. She had long brunette hair, wearing a yellow spring dress. Kyle, 20, was looking at his notes from one of his college classes, as he's studying Social Work. Kyle was wearing his typical cargo shorts and grey golf shirt. Mom and Dad were sitting together; Dad sleeping and Mom reading one of her books. Mom had jeans and a green shirt on with reading glasses, while Dad had grey shorts with a white t-shirt.

Kyle notices Mary's troubled expression and walked over to her. "Hey, you okay? You don't look too excited to be here." Mary was quick to defend herself.

"O-oh…I just never flew before. That's all it is." She said. Kyle wouldn't buy that for a second

"Are you sure about that?" Kyle questioned. "Every time you say, 'that's all', it really isn't." Mary sighed with a defeated look on her face.

"Well, to be honest…ever since hearing those rumors about Lance, I just get worried." She admitted. "I know we're told not to believe any of that stuff, but…what if it's true? We don't know anything at all. Then the footage of him punching someone out of nowhere, I just couldn't watch it. It's like I don't know who that person is." Kyle gathered his thoughts. He understood why she thought this way.

"We _know_ Lance. He's _our_ brother. You should know that he doesn't do things without a reason. If you're really that worried, just ask him about it." Kyle said, strongly. He then took a deep breath. "I'm not gonna lie; I'm pretty curious about a few things, too, but when the time is right, he'll talk. Besides, we're gonna see him kick some butt, right?" Mary smiled after hearing him say that. It gave her some reassurance.

"Yes. At least I hope so. If he loses, we're leaving you behind next time." Mary said jokingly. Kyle chuckled and gave her a little love push. Mom looked over, checking on both, saying "Behave you two." They shrugged as they continue to look on. As Kyle went back to study, Mary took something out of her dress pocket. It was a necklace that Lance gave her for her 18th birthday. It had a diamond locket that had "Love & Protection" engraved on it. Inside was a picture of Lance, Mary, and Kyle, and she holds onto it tightly in her hands.

 _ **Back in Downtown Glitzville…**_

In Downtown Glitzville, Lance is wearing his black hoodie walking around, seeing what downtown looks like: a couple gyms here and there, interconnected homes, corner stores, and a few sports fields here and there. Along the way, he sees a gym where it's packed. Named "Kloop's Gym", he walks in with a determined expression and someone immediately recognizes him. A yellow Koopa Troopa walks up to speak with him.

"Yo dawg. I've seen you around before." He said. Everyone looked over as he talked to Lance. Lance immediately recognized him when he saw his face.

 _Oh…my…. GOD. IT'S KING K! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! The former Glitz Pit Champion. So legendary. His 10-month reign was the longest since Prince Mush's 2_ _nd_ _reign of 13 months. He even beat Prince Mush once, too! He was my favorite growing up. The ultimate underdog while I was training. Wasn't even favored in most of his title-defenses. Something tells me he's well respected around here, if he isn't already._

"Your name is Lance, right?" he says while Lance is lost in thought. He snaps out of it quick. He was quick to respond.

"Yeah, I am," he says, trying to keep himself from squealing. "And you're King K, aren't you?" he asked with confidence. King K smiled.

"Of course. I've been seein' you fight recently. You're surprising a lot of people. What I don't like seeing is what the media has gotten into you. Why you messin' with Shawn, dawg?" Lance froze. His mind raced to all sorts of conclusions and his face turned white. _Oh, dear god. Is he friends with Shawn?! Does he believe everything?!_

King K looked confused. "You okay, dawg?" he asked. Lance could barely find words.

"W-Well…I..uh…I can explain-" King K cut him off right away.

"Don't worry about it. Knowing the tool bag, he's probably tormentin' ya. He can shove it, for all I care. This gym is a judge-free zone. Everybody respects one another around here. Alright?" Lance breathed a sigh of relief. Once everyone continued their routines, he walked to the locker room to drop his stuff off. One member of the gym went up to King K as he finished his water break.

"Yo K, isn't that the new guy? Why is he in a gym if he can do stuff like he did the past couple nights? It doesn't make sense. Trained 8 years and now doing more?" the young Goomba asked. King K chuckled.

"Yunno, if there's one thing you should know about fighting in the Glitz Pit…"

 _ **Nobody is perfect. No such thing as perfect. That's why we grind, scratch, and claw to get where we wanna be. If we stop workin' hard, you won't impress nobody. That's why perfection is a myth.**_

Lance comes out and starts stretching. King K looks on, trying to figure out what Lance's deep reason to be here. As he starts walking up, Lance goes directly to a punching wall, where the wall is padded with special technology to absorb attacks. King K starts observing as Lance starts to pick up the pace. He's delivering blow after blow. A couple other members start watching him with King K, amazed at his speed. Lance starts glowing blue, unleashing his Dragon Fury attack. Lance, pushing his limits, wants to keep Dragon Fury going until he's exhausted. More and more people join to watch him, amazed at his work ethic, especially King K.

 _I don't think I've seen somebody so committed since Double G-Money, The Great Gonzales. It's amazing how well he's been trained. Even with Flare passing down his ability, he's gone through matches without it not even breaking a sweat. He's gonna be something, that's for sure._

About 30 minutes pass until he's exhausted and stops, sweating bullets and breathing heavily. He sits down and takes a drink, while he finally notices that everyone was watching him. He starts feeling awkward. _Uh…am I the only one who thinks this is weird?_

A member of the gym, a red toad walks up to him. "You got some insane workout regimen, dude. I can see why you've been tearing it up." He stated. Lance chuckles.

"Honestly, I just think I'm lucky." The red toad laughed at his remark.

"At least you're humble, unlike Shawn." Lance grinned, acknowledging his support. Lance looked at the time and saw 1:56 PM.

"Oh geez! I gotta get going. Family is gonna be here in an hour and I look like crap. See ya around, guys!" Lance said as he left. King K smiled as he watched the newcomer leave. He then turned around to the rest of the members.

"You see that commitment?! THAT IS WHAT I WANNA SEE. THAT is how you make it. You can have ALL the talent in the world, but if you DON'T have the HEART or GUTS, you won't do nothin'! Not just in the fight business, but in LIFE." He said in a raised voice. The members nodded in agreement and resumed their training.

 _ **Back in the Glitzville Minor-League Locker Room…**_

Lance walked in as Richard and Kevin are getting ready for the day. They both look confused as they see Lance sweaty and out of breath. Kevin had a giant smirk on his face. "Yo Lance! Did ya finally-" Lance cuts him off.

"NO, YOU SICKO!" Lance said, raising his voice. Richard laughed hard back on his bed, while Kevin was rolling on the floor. Lance couldn't help grin, but he felt embarrassed at the same time. After the laughter subdues, Lance announces where he has been.

"I actually went to Kloop's Gym. I thought I needed to brush up on some endurance training a little bit." Kevin chuckled when he said that.

"On your day off? Well, if you don't wear yourself out, it's cool. Find time to relax, though. If you don't, you'll really wear yourself out. I've done that before." Kevin explains. Lance nodded in agreement.

"Been there, done that." Richard chimed in. They proceeded to talk about their upcoming matches tonight. Lance looked at the time and it said 2:25 PM.

"Oh geez, it's almost three! I gotta get ready to meet my family at the blimp drop off!" Richard looked up as he said that.

"Oh, yeah, you did say that, didn't you?" Richard questioned. Kevin started chuckling. "Oh geez, now that he knows, he's gonna wail on you when he gets here." Richard said as he looked at Kevin with a side-eye look.

"Hey! I take great pride at this sort of stuff!" he said gruffly. Lance thought of a joke.

"Yeah, his imaginary fans already embarrass him enough with all those empty seats!" Lance retorted with a smirk on his face. Richard started laughing into his pillow while Kevin burst out laughing. After everyone calmed down, Lance took his shower and got dressed, wearing a plain grey t -shirt and blue jeans. Lance sees that it's 2:55 PM. "Alright guys, I'm off to meet my family at the station. I'll see ya tonight, alright?" Richard and Kevin say their goodbyes as Lance exits the locker room. Kevin had a smile on his face, and Richard sees it.

"What are you so happy about?" questioned Richard. Kevin giggled a little bit as he started to explain himself.

"It's nice to see someone have the support he does." Richard stared blankly, confused.

"Why do you say that? Sounds like you're getting soft, hehe." Richard said with sarcasm. Kevin just shook his head.

"Look, all jokes aside, I'm happy for him. The last couple rooks that have come and gone never had something like he had. I saw the newspaper of Petalburg a few days ago, the day he was signed, and he was on the front page. It talked about how Mayor Koops, who also competed here with The Great Gonzalez, got the whole town together for a going away/good luck party. I really like stories like that." Kevin explained, showing his softer side. Richard smiled.

"Never knew you had a soft spot for stuff like that, Kev. You never cease to surprise me." Kevin side-eyed him.

"Alright, I don't wanna be mushy, ya weirdo. Let's get ready." They both exit the locker room for their pre-match routines.

As Lance arrives at the station, waiting for his family, a reporter recognizes him and walks up to Lance. "Hi Lance. I was just wondering if you could answer a question for me. I've actually wanted to ask the other day but didn't get the chance to." She asked politely. Lance looked over and saw it was a reporter. _It's one question. How much could it hurt?_

"Sure thing," he said quickly. "But make it fast. I don't have much time." The reporter smiled. She looked through her notes and found what she was looking for.

"What is your honest opinion about this whole ordeal with Shawn? It seems no one has asked your opinion, yet only want Shawn's." Lance was caught off-guard by her question.

"Well…to be perfectly honest, I think he got a little TOO jealous when I met Emily. That's basically how this whole drama-fest started." The reporter wrote something down on her notepad. Once finished, she put her stuff away.

"Thank you, Lance. I appreciate that. I'll see you around!" Lance waves goodbye, then smiles. _I wanna remember her. The only nice member of the paparazzi I've met here._

Suddenly, Lance's family appears out of the tunnel. Mary is the first one to run out of the tunnel and into Lance's arms, crying tears of joy. Kyle, Mom, and Dad soon follow, catching up with Mary. They all give Lance a hug as they get the chance.

"Laaaaaance! I missed you soooo much!" Mary cried, wiping away her tears.

"It's only been a week, ya drama queen." Kyle says. Mary lightly punches his shoulder. Lance gives him a fist bump to acknowledge his joke.

"Lance, you look great. Everyone's talking about you back at home. You're basically a celebrity." Mom says with delight. Dad gives Lance a pat on the back.

"You're doing great so far, even with everything going on. Come on everyone, let's get to the hotel." Dad says with a tired tone. _Someone didn't sleep well, huh? Typical, hehe._

While walking to their hotel, Lance sees no sign of the media trying to approach him. He thought it was odd but shrugs it off. When they get there, he sees both Kevin and Richard waiting, conversing with each other. As they reach to them, Lance chimes in to introduce them."

"Everyone, meet Ke-" Kevin then cuts him off.

"No no, please, no introduction. I know I'm beautiful and amazing already." He says as he strikes an awkward pose, and Richard just laughs in the background. Lance just facepalms in embarrassment. Kyle and Mary chuckle at Lance, while Dad and Mom try to hold in their laughter. Lance just then thinks of a joke.

"I apologize on Kevin's behalf, he tends to brag about having only 2 fans." Everyone chuckles while Kevin has his mouth wide open. Eventually, Lance finally introduces them. "Anyways, this is Kevin and Richard. This is my Mom, Dad, my brother Kyle, and sister Mary." They all shake hands as they greet one another. Lance has a smirk on his face as he's beaming with joy and excitement. They eventually walk into the hotel to check in. _I haven't seen Shawn at ALL today. I wonder if Jolene really got to him. Or if he's planning something? Wait, why am I complaining? It's the first day I haven't been mobbed, so I should SAVOR this._

While waiting for check-in to be finished, Mary and Kyle are with Lance. "So, did you break-up with craphead yet, Mary?" Lance says with an unsatisfied tone. Mary grinned when she heard him.

"Oh god, yes." Mary said quickly. "I actually broke up with him a few days ago. Good riddance, too." Lance rolled his eyes.

"Y'know, I said that to you 2 months ago. Hate to say it, but I to-" Mary cut him off, a little annoyed.

"Shut up, Lance. I hate it when you say that." She nudged him lightly with her shoulder.

"Why, cause he's always right?" Kyle retorted. They both laugh as Mary blushes in embarrassment. "You been doing okay, though, bro?" Kyle asked Lance. He nodded in response.

"Yeah, I'm good. A couple bumps in the road never hurt me." Mary's expression was filled with doubt. She finally mustered the courage to say something.

"Lance…what's exactly going on? What's true?! What's false?! Please tell me…" frowned Mary. Lance chuckled as he explained himself.

"Alright, look. Whatever stupid rumor you heard on TV is false. He's been manipulating them to his side of the story. I decided to hit him because I had enough of his crap, plain and simple." Mary looked to Lance's eyes, and knew he was being sincere. Kyle smiled on as he wanted to tell Mary something, but Mary's glare told him otherwise. Mom and Dad signaled them, letting them know that check-in was done. Kevin and Richard walked with Lance.

"Your family seems cool, dude. I can see why you wanted to do this. Your Dad knows a LOT." Richard says to Lance. He just smiled.

"Yeah. Believe it or not, Dad objected to the idea of me being a fighter. It was my mom who convinced him." Richard widened his eyes, surprised at that statement.

"Whoa, really?" Kevin said, butting in. "That's kind of funny, considering what your Mom seems like." Lance shook his head.

"At the time, I didn't realize it, but Mom always knew what's best. In fact, ALL Moms know best." Lance replied. They all chuckled in agreement.

They enter the hotel room which has two beds. Immediately, Kyle and Mary groan with dread. There was also a TV on a stand against the wall. There's also a clock on the stand, reading 4:45 PM. The family un-packs and Mom thinks of an idea.

"Hey, why don't we go to the smoothie bar we all like?" she suggests. "I think we should celebrate before Kevin and Richard leave." Everyone likes the idea and heads to the Smoothie Bar next to the Glitz Pit.

On their way to the Smoothie Bar, Lance sees Sarah, looking around in a panic. Kevin and Richard catch on to it as well. "Hey, isn't that Sarah? What do you think is wrong?" As he asks Richard and Kevin that, Sarah spots them and she quickly runs over to Lance.

"OH MY GOD! Lance! Thank god I found you!" She says shakenly. Her eyes are filled with worry and distraught. Lance's family is concerned, especially Mary.

"Sarah, calm down. What's going on?" Lance suddenly felt a sense of dread. _Please don't tell me…_

"Emily…something happened with Emily! There were these people, and I completely lost her in the crowd! I found her, and she won't talk to me!" She pleaded. Lance could hardly keep his anger in check, clenching his fist. His family had concerned looks on their faces. Richard and Kevin started walking up until Lance interrupted.

"Stop. Don't waste your time on this. I'll see what's going on and I'll be back quickly, alright? I won't be long." Lance stated, reassuring everyone. "Where is she, Sarah?"

"She's at the Café." She answered. _Oh, how convenient. What in the world happened?!_ Lance runs to the café as his worry grows with every passing second. He finally gets to the café to see Emily, silently crying, looking at Lance as he walked in with a white dress with marks all over it.

Lance sits at the table she's at, and immediately starts asking her what happened. "What in the world happened? Sarah came looking for me because you won't talk to her." Emily just turned away, crying. Lance noticed one ear was redder than the other. "What happened to your ear…?"

Emily cries more, as she turns her head. There's a big, red handprint that leads from her ear to her cheek. Lance's expression goes from concerned to angry in a mere second. "Who in the hell did this to you…?" he said with a deepened, angered voiced. Emily finally mustered words.

"It…it was…one of Shawn's friends…" she muttered. Lance was trying to calm down as he listened. "Sarah…and I were just walking…and we got separated…because there was a lot…of people. Then…someone grabbed me. It was…a girl…" Lance sits next to her, arm around her shoulders, consoling her as he listened. "Her name….was Kayleigh. She's….a major leaguer."

"I'll find this Kayleigh and-" Emily cut him off.

"No! Please…don't…there's more." She says gently. Lance listened in. "I saw…Shawn in the back…laughing. Kayleigh dirtied my dress…and slapped me. She told me…that I'll never be happy here…OH GOD IT WAS HORRIBLE." She shouted, crying into Lance's arm. Lance hugs her as she tries to calm her down. Emily just lets it all out.

 _They've gone too far. This is worse than horrible; it's evil. Just what in the world is Shawn's goal? Why physically hurt somebody to send a message?! Why?! Just….WHY!_

Emily saw Lance's angry expression, looking like he's about to burst. "Please…" she started. "Don't bother with them…please…they're not going to stop…" Lance looks into Emily's eyes as she was talking. "I…I've been dealing with this for months now…and none of it has stopped." She said as tears started pouring down her face. Lance takes a deep breath and turns to Emily, looking her in the eye.

"After tomorrow night, all of this will be over. I promise." He said confidently and sincerity. Emily questioned his statement.

"What do you mean…? Tomorrow? What's going on tomorrow night?!" She said panicking. Lance chuckled, smiling.

"I wasn't supposed to tell anyone this until it was announced but," Lance leans over to whisper to her ear. "My match tomorrow night? It's against Shawn. It's also the main event." Emily's eyes lit up, as well as her jaw dropping in astonishment. "But don't tell anyone! Jolene is more irritated of this whole thing than we are." Emily still couldn't believe what she heard. She started to doubt Jolene's decision.

"But…what if this doesn't work…? Even if you DO win? What then?" she asked, worried. Lance grinned as he looked up.

"Then we'll do what we always do best: Wing it." Emily smiled, feeling more confident after hearing Lance's solution. "Now come on," he said as he got up. "I don't wanna keep my family waiting."

She follows him out of the door, but stops him, holding his hand. "Wait! I wanna change really quick! I won't be long, I promise! Just meet me there. Please?" She asked, with a new, happy and confident face. Lance couldn't say no.

"Alright, go ahead." He said, about to walk away when he feels a tug at his hand. He looks at Emily, who's looking at him dead in the eye.

"And…thank you. For everything." She says as she lets go, skipping happily to her house.

 **Later at the Smoothie Shop...**

Lance tells everyone what happened, leaving out the part he wouldn't say. He assures Emily is doing better, as she's coming by soon. Everyone has a smoothie, catching up, when Emily walks in. She's wearing a red dress with white flower outline designs on it, her red hair straightened and down, with silver earrings. Sarah spots her, who's wearing the same design shirt, but in yellow. They both find each other and hug each other, happy to see each other, but more of Sarah glad that Emily is doing better. As they both come over, Lance, Kevin, and Richard couldn't believe how she looked.

"Wow Emily, is this a new side of you that we're seeing?" Richard says, breaking the silence of the three. Lance's family were whispering to each other. Suddenly, his Dad leaned over to his son.

"Hey, you didn't tell me she was pretty. What's the deal?" he says, nudging Lance. Lance was put on the spot, embarrassed.

"Dad! Stop! It isn't like that!" he responds via whisper. Kyle had a grin on his face, while Mary had a tough expression, almost seeming like she was jealous.

 _Who IS this girl? She's TOTALLY trying to impress him! Ugh. I won't let this happen. She's been the center of attention since Lance met her. I don't trust her._

Lance, Kevin, and Richard saw something in Emily's eyes that they haven't seen before. It was confidence. Emily, for the first time in almost half a year, felt confident about herself, and it's all thanks to Sarah and the three new friends she has met. She could not be happier.

All the while, Emily brings herself to ask, "So, Mr. Vernon, you trained Lance? He talks about it a lot." He immediately responds.

"Of course. It was the deal we had when I allowed him to be a fighter in the first place," he said proudly. Mrs. Vernon laughs hysterically.

"That was after I convinced you, so don't you dare take all the credit, mister!" she exclaimed. Lance chuckled, as well as Kevin.

"Lance, you didn't tell me your Mom had humor!" Kevin stated. Lance laughed for a couple seconds.

"Yeah, she can when she wants to." He said as he hid himself with his hand. Mrs. Vernon lightly slapped his shoulder as she told him 'shut up, Lance.' Everyone was laughing as the clock struck 6:00 PM. Kevin and Richard jerked their heads up, knowing they needed to get ready.

"Well fellas, it's been fun, but we gotta get rolling. We both have matches tonight, but mines a little more _personal._ " Richard announces, as Kevin gets up in agreement. They all say their goodbyes as they leave money at the table, paying for their share. The rest finished up and headed out the door about fifteen minutes later.

As they exited the Smoothie Bar, Lance saw Shawn standing outside the Glitz Pit with his cronies. His family, Emily, and Sarah took notice who he was staring at. Sarah's stomach sank, while Emily walked up next to Lance, confident as she can be. Lance gave a sharp stare, but Shawn laughs. He and his cronies start walking toward them.

"Oh, so he wants a piece of this, huh?!" Mary says sharply. Lance looked over to her and the rest of his family.

"Go back to the hotel. I'll meet you ther-" Lance was cut off by Mary.

"No. We're here for you. I'm sure all of this want to see this." She said with disgust. Lance chuckled as Shawn and his two cronies approached. Shawn gave his usual sneer at him, then looked at who was behind him: his family, Sarah, and Emily, as he eyed her down.

"Wow, Emily, I never knew you hid that look from me. It's nice seeing you come out of your shell for once. The only thing that bothers me? You did it for _him_ , didn't you?!" he declared, pointing at Lance. Emily didn't bat an eye.

"No, I didn't. I did it for myself. Call me selfish all you want, but you're just jealous Lance is just a better all-around person than you. Shut up." Emily said with anger in her voice. Shawn's expression went from cocky grin to smug in mere milliseconds.

"…Whatever. Suit yourself, prude. I'll deal with you later." Shawn said to Lance. He walked away with his cronies into the Glitz Pit. Lance takes a deep breath. Mary folds her arms.

"You handled that pretty well, son. I hope one day you can get a crack at him." Mr. Vernon said sternly.

 _Oh, believe me, I will. It's happening sooner than you think, Pops. It's gonna be something special._

Emily suddenly turns to Lance and says, "Hey, do you guys mind if we joined you tonight? Sarah has off tomorrow, and you got the day off. It'd be pretty cool!" She asked, hands behind her back with a smile on her face. Lance looked over to his family for approval. He noticed they all approved except Mary, who had her arms crossed, looking dissatisfied. He didn't think of it as anything at the time.

"Yeah, sure!" he replies gleefully. Emily's smile grew bigger as she heard his approval, and Sarah thanked everyone for their hospitality.

Lance's family and friends get to the Glitz Pit when Dad went ahead to get their tickets. Mary saw this as an opportunity. "Hey, Lance? Can I talk to you for a second?" Lance saw Mary's face, full of doubt and serious vibes. He walks with her to a point where nobody else can hear them.

"What's been troubling you? You seem out of it." Lance asked. Mary sighed as she answered.

"It's just…well…y'know…everything going on with what the media's been saying about you…and I know you think this is kind of dumb, but…I need to know. Is everything they say about you and Emily true?" Lance smiles at his youngest sister, almost to the point where he almost chuckled.

"Well, if we're talking about the time I punched him the other day, then yes. That's true. The rumors about Emily and me? Not true. There's nothing serious like that between us. Shawn has the media in the palm of his hand. Don't go believing everything you hear, Mary. Just relax. No need to worry!" Lance said, trying to reassure Mary. Mary took a deep breath and smiled.

"Okay. Thank you." She said, relieved. She walked back with Lance where the others were. Mr. Vernon was standing outside.

"Everything is good! Let's go!" he announced. Mary and Kyle are excited, being their first time witnessing a night in the Glitz Pit. As the family enters on in, reporters are crowding the floor, but luckily not for Lance. In the distance, they see Prince Much walk out of the locker room area and the media instantly mobs him. _Oh god, poor Mush. This is probably just another day at the office for him, considering._ As they're walking toward the door to the ring, it swings open with Shawn walking through. Lance's family, faces filled with disgust, just walk past him, with Shawn doing the same until he gets to Lance. Their eyes lock, both with absolute hatred for each other filled their expressions as they both walked away from each other. Lance guides everyone to the seats they have for the night.

"WOOOOOW! These seats are awesome, Lance! I never thought we'd be front row!" Mary exclaimed. Her eyes instantly lit up as she looked around, while Mom, Dad, and Kyle watch her be amazed.

Dad turned around to ask Lance, "Y'know, how DID you get these kinds of seats? I mean, even when you ARE on the roster, it's still really hard." Lance had an answer right away.

"Actually, Jolene gave these to me the other night after my fight with Nick. She saw I had reserved seats for tonight and tomorrow, so she figured that she would upgrade them for us." Dad's eyes widened.

"Wow, aren't you special? You brown-nosing already?!" He said, teasing Lance. He gave a playful, light shove to his father shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Honestly, I don't know why she did that. She said there's a reason, but told me I'd find out later." Lance explained. _Okay, I lied on that last part. She wanted to surprise EVERYONE. I know exactly what's going on._

 _ **Meanwhile in the minor-league locker room…**_

Kevin and Richard are ready for the night to begin. Kevin is the first match of the night, while Richard is right before the main event. Kevin has a concerned look on his face. Richard notices as he asks, "Hey, you alright? What's on your mind?"

Kevin turns his heard toward Richard. "I don't know. I just have this… _weird_ feeling in my stomach. Like something might happen to anybody. Whether it's Lance, You, Me, or anybody who we were with tonight, something is gonna happen. I dunno if I might be paranoid, but considering how things have gone these past few days, it wouldn't surprise me." Richard nods in agreement, but has a response.

"Don't you worry about a thing, dude. Everyone is together. Emily with Sarah, Lance with his family, ain't nothing gonna go wrong unless some punk wants to step in." Richard responds with complete confidence. "Just go out and have fun like we always do. Everyone is in somebody's capable hands. Heck, even the Fight Gods, as much as you dislike them." They both chuckled at Richard's last comment. Kevin shrugged his shoulders, but acknowledging Richard's confidence that they have nothing to worry about. _None…absolutely none, right? I only worry because the hotel they're staying at…_

 _ **Is in a neighborhood that no soft-souled person can survive in.**_

 _ **Back in the Glitz Pit…**_

Jolene is walking up to the ring, the crowd loud as it ever will be. Everybody stands up as the lights focus on Jolene. "GOOD EVENING FIGHT FANS, AND WELCOME TO ANOTHER AMAZING ACTION-PACKED NIGHT HERE IN THE GLITZ PIIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Crowd roars in excitement as Jolene pumps everyone in the arena up. "Glad you're ready for tonight, because it's going to be another CRAZY night at the Glitz Pit! We got some amazing fights for all of you tonight, as always! Our first match of the night includes two of the hottest minor-leaguer fighters right now! Both on big winning streaks, they hope to keep the pedal going in their quest to the major-league! Introducing first, he must take a one-year leave of absence because of a leg injury, and since he's come back, he looks better than he was a year ago! INTRODUCING….

 _ **THE GRIM DEATH BURGLAR, BANDY ANDY!**_

The crowd explodes for Bandy Andy. Wearing his typical green thief outfit, he looks like he was never hurt. Lance's Dad smirked. "I'm happy to see him succeed. I thought he was done after he broke his leg." Lance nodded in agreement as the others watch in suspense, waiting for Kevin.

Sarah has a look of disgust on her face. "Oh god, I still haven't found the slime ball that spread the rumor that I had a crush on this guy!" Emily laughs hysterically. "OHMIGOD, I totally forgot about that! Didn't Alissa always bring that up constantly to annoy you?" Emily asked. Sarah just responded by rolling her eyes.

"And FINALLY, he's been on a hot streak this past month, as he's racked up eight wins in a row coming into tonight! THE ONE, THE ONLY…

 _ **THE STEEL-SHELLED MONARCH, KEVIN!**_

And with that announcement, the stadium explodes as Kevin approaches the ring, casually as he can be. Lance and his family give a loud cheer for him, as well as Sarah and Emily. As they're all rooting for Kevin, Mary gets a strange feeling and looks behind her. Nothing she found out of the ordinary, but still having a feeling that someone is watching her.

"LET'S GET READY TO..."

 _ **BRAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!**_

The gong is sounded, and fight begins. Kevin immediately charges Bandy Andy with shell attacks, but he avoids them almost effortlessly. Bandy Andy catches Kevin and throws him down to the ground. Kevin dashes away, but Bandy Andy keeps up with him and hits him with a combination of punches and kicks. After being pushed back, Kevin jumps up high, but Bandy Andy jumps higher than him, and slams him to the ground again. _UGH! You gotta be kidding!"_ Kevin shouts "THUNDER SHELL" as lightning strikes his shell and Bandy Andy, but just barely. Kevin buys himself time and jumps away, thinking of another plan.

"Kevin seems surprised of Bandy Andy's speed." Lance states. His dad nods in agreement.

"Yes. Kevin hasn't faced anybody with reflexes like this. Bandits have amazing reflexes, but Andy's in a whole other league than your average bandit." Lance's Dad explains. Lance agrees, awaiting to see what Kevin does next.

Kevin takes a deep breath. _Alright…cat-like reflexes. Speed. Precision. All these things this guy has. What do I got? I know I could overpower him, but that won't matter if I can't hit him. Let's try the old-fashioned lure-them-in strategy!_ Kevin starts spinning in his shell, charging up his attack. Bandy Andy readies himself in a defensive stance. Kevin just keeps charging, waiting for him to make a move, but he does not. Kevin starts to grow impatient. _Ugh, WHY CAN'T THIS GUY TAKE A HINT?! Wait…hint…AHA!_ Kevin launches himself toward Bandy Andy. He jumps up as Bandy tries to catch him, faking out his shell attack, and drop kicks Bandy Andy. Now stunned, Kevin finally assaults Andy with a flurry of punches and kicks, but Bandy Andy gets away before he finishes his combo. _Slick, aren't we?_

Emily jumps in excitement. "There we go!" Sarah just watches on, hoping Kevin wins this match. The crowd cheers on.

 _Okay, how about THIS?!_ Kevin tucks himself inside his shell again as he starts charging up. He then shouts, "FLAME BURST!" Kevin shoots a fire ball from his shell. Bandy Andy dodges it easily, but as the fireball lands, it explodes, catching him off-guard and launching him. Kevin jumps up to him and starts wailing punches and kicks on Bandy Andy. Kevin slams him to the ground with a drop kick. "AHHHHHHH!" shouted Bandy Andy. Just then, he picks up speed and shows up behind Kevin, who did not see him. Bandy Andy starts hitting Kevin with punches and kicks, and shouts "DARK ROBBERY!" He glows green, slamming Kevin to the ground. "UGHHHHHHHHHHH!" screamed Kevin, in pain. _Wh-Where did that come from?! Sweet lord, he's quick! It's like my attack didn't faze him!_

"Wow, Bandy Andy took that like it was nothing." Lance said with an impressed look on his face. Everyone is concerned for Kevin, but Lance's Dad objects.

"Not quite. Bandy might have taken that blow, but it came at a cost. Look closely at Bandy." They see he's out of breath. "That movement from Bandy was not natural. It took a lot of energy out of him. If Kevin sees it, he has a chance." Lance's Dad responds.

Lance thought to himself. _Oh, I see. I think Kevin put a little more power into his attacks, and when Bandy Andy saw that, he panicked, forcing him to bite off more than he could chew._

Kevin looks up at Bandy Andy, seeing that he's a little out of breath, like Lance's Dad stated. _It seems like that exchange took a little out of him, but still. I found your weakness Bandy. Time to exploit it._ Kevin shoots his Flame Burst attack again. Bandy Andy dodges it and the shockwave it delivers, but Kevin shouts "MACH SHELL!" as he bursts toward Andy with a huge burst of speed, directly hitting him in the gut. He then continues to hit him with his Mach Shell attack, as Bandy Andy can't see where he's coming from. _I can't keep up with his movements…! NO!_ Kevin shouts, "SHELL SLAM!" all the while Bandy Andy shouts, "TAINTED RUSH!" and they both collide. A huge explosion erupts from both of their attacks bursting head-on into each other. As the smoke clears, both fighters are on one knee, both taking heavy damage from the last attack. Bandy Andy smiles as he falls to the ground. The gong is heard and the crowd roars as Jolene announces the winner.

 _ **WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! THE STEEL-SHELLED MONARCH, KEVIN!**_

Lance, his family, Emily, and Sarah gave huge shouts for Kevin, just as the whole arena did. Kevin waves around the crowd, celebrating his ninth win in a row. Lance and his family high-five each other and other fans join in on the fray. Sarah is bear-hugging Emily, who's laughing as Sarah hugs her. As Lance gives Kevin the thumbs-up, he smiles back at him, acknowledging the support him and his family give him. Kevin shakes Bandy Andy in sportsmanship, and they both head out of the arena.

Once everybody settles down, Mary gets up again. "Sorry guys, I gotta go to the bathroom really quick. I'll be back!" she announced. Lance tells her where the bathroom is before she walks off.

As she walks out of the bathroom, someone calls out to her. "Hey! Excuse me!" She turns around to look who it was. It's a green-shelled Koopa Troopa with a blue and white button-down shirt and cargo pants. _Well…I don't wanna be rude, but…this is kinda awkward._

Mary, feeling out of place, just weakly says, "Hello." The Koopa Troopa smiled at her, trying to ease the tension.

"Are you by yourself?" he asked out of curiosity. Mary felt even more awkward. _This is kinda creepy…_

Mary collected herself. "Uh…no. I'm with my family." The Koopa Troopa nodded in response. He finally realized he slipped up.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't ask your name. What is it?" Mary had to keep her composure, as she feels off about this encounter. _Well that was weird. I don't think that was on purpose._

"My name is Mary. What's yours?" she asked with confidence. The Koopa Troopa grinned, and so did Mary.

"My name is Cam. Nice to meet ya! You from around here?" Just then, Mary feels light-headed. Her vision blurries, as if she's about to faint. Cam notices something wrong. "Hey…you okay?"

"Um...I-I think I might be getting sick…I'm sorry, I gotta go." She responds weakly as she rushes back into the bathroom. Cam quickly takes his phone out and waits for an answer. As soon as he gets an answer, he says "Yes," then hangs up, walking away. She sits in the stall, curling up in a ball. _No…not again. This sick feeling in my stomach…why?_ She recomposes herself and heads out, going back to her family. As Mary is returning to her seat, Kevin spots her before walking in the arena.

"Hey, Mary! Wait up!" he yells, catching up to her. As Mary turns and looks at Kevin, he knows something is up. "Hey, are you okay? What's wrong?" When asked that, Mary couldn't help but tell the truth.

"Well…you see, I went to the bathroom really quick. Right when I walk out, someone was WAITING for me. So long-story short, I was being followed. As we talked, I had this sick feeling in my stomach, so I went back to the bathroom to calm myself down. It was...sigh. I had a bad feeling. I didn't trust the guy, is all." She explained, quickly cutting herself off from that last sentence. _I just can't bring up what happened two years ago…I just can't. Not yet._

Kevin nods with understanding, however has doubts. _I extremely doubt that. You wouldn't look like you saw a ghost with an encounter like THAT. I'm gonna have a talk to Lance after tonight. He probably knows something._ "Alright," he responded. "No need to worry since he's gone, now. Plus, you're with your folks. NOTHING is going to happen to you. I guarantee it." Mary smiles as she hears him say that, feeling safer than she did just minutes ago. They go into the arena and sits with Lance and Co.

As the night goes on, each fight lives up to everyone's expectations. Everyone is having a great time until Richard's fight is coming up next. Emily and Sarah slide themselves over next to Lance for this specific match. Lance notices them next to them as their facial expressions turn serious. Kayleigh versus Richard has been on their mind since this afternoon.

"Hey Kevin?" Emily asks. "Are you sure Richard can win this?" Kevin looks over to Emily, who seems worried. Kevin chuckles and nods.

"Of course, he can. He knows what really happened. He's on a mission tonight, that's for sure." Emily looks on after listening to Kevin. Just then, Jolene comes back into the ring to announce the next match.

"Ladies and gentlemen! It's time for our next anticipated match-up! First up, she's a newcomer who is already 2-0 in major-league competition. Is she the next big thing? PLEASE WELCOME…"

 _ **RANKED #19 IN THE GLITZ PIT! THE ROOT ABYSS, KAYLEIGH!**_

As Kayleigh enters the arena, there are cheers throughout the crowd, however, Sarah, Kevin, and Lance's family all boo. Kayleigh hears them, and looks toward their direction, seeing Emily and Lance in particular. She grins, knowing what she did. Lance just looks on, waiting for Richard.

Kevin specifically glares at Kayleigh, and she notices. She just rolls her eyes. _You're in for a beating, ya crook. Just you wait. Richard will pull out all the stops to beat you. And that's the worst part, because he has never gone full throttle in a match before._ As Kevin is deep in thought, Jolene begins to introduce Richard.

"AND NOW! He's the newest member of the major-league, and now he gets his first chance to prove he belongs there! INTRODUCING…"

 _ **RANKED #20 IN THE GLITZ PIT! THE ASCENDED WARRIOR, RICHARD THE HAMMER BRO!**_

A much larger cheer is being heard for Richard. Lance and Co. become his personal fan club, shouting loud for him. The crowd beings to chant his name. He enters the arena, looking more serious than he ever has, even with all the chanting. Lance's Dad sees something different like everyone else.

"Everybody buckle up, because this fight is gonna be the most intense we're gonna see tonight that isn't a title match." Lance's Dad announces. Everyone nods in agreement. Richard then steps into the ring, getting right into Kayleigh's face. The piranha plant is caught off-guard by his approach.

"Get ready, Kayleigh. You're gonna remember tonight for the rest of your life." Kayleigh chuckled, finding his statement humorous.

"Whatever you say, tough guy. You're not gonna lay a finger on me." She said as she backed away, readying herself. Richard stays put, assuming his stance as well. Jolene backs away and announces the start of the match. "Get yourselves ready to…"

 _ **BRAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL!**_

The gong is heard, and Kayleigh immediately launches fireballs out of her mouth, like a true fire piranha plant. Richard dodges by jumping out of the way easily. He throws a hammer, but Kayleigh swerves out of the way, as well. Kayleigh attacks by whipping her vine towards Richard, but he blocks it with his other hammer that he quickly takes out from his back. Kayleigh tries again with he another vine, but she misses, and Richard quickly slams his hammer down on it, damaging Kayleigh. "AIEEE!" she cried out in pain. Richard suddenly moves in quickly, picking up his other hammer along with way, and starts attacking Kayleigh with his hammers, causing damage. _UGH! Geez, this guy hits HARD. What's this dude's deal?! ENOUGH IS ENOUGH._ Kayleigh regains her composure and pushes him away with her other vine that was not hit. Richard takes a deep breath and settles down. _Whew. That was invigorating. I need to chill out and focus._ Lance and the others look on, surprised at Richard's approach.

"Wow, I knew he was serious, but holy cow, he's GOING AT IT. He's never started a match with a full-frontal assault!" Kevin explains. Lance's Dad also chimes in.

"His emotions were doing the talking there. He also did some significant damage to Kayleigh, too. Hopefully it pays off." He retorted. Emily looks on, concerned. _Come on, Richard. Please. Teach this girl a lesson._

Kayleigh, stunned by his attacks, is panting a little bit. _Geez. Who knew he could pack a punch like that without even breaking a sweat? Time to get serious._ She starts spitting out fire balls again, but Richard dodges them easily, however, doesn't realize they're following him. _Got 'em._ They circle around Richard, trapping him, eventually moving in to try and damage him _Ugh…how annoying._ Richard swiftly says "SHOCKWAVE!" His hammers start shinning a silver-colored glow, and slams both of his hammers hard on the ground, sending a shock blast so powerful, it disintegrates the fire balls, and hitting Kayleigh. _AHHH! NO! How is it possible to make…GASP!_ Just then Richard moves in very quickly, with both hammers together, creating a ball of energy between the two, and shouts, "HAMMER BLAST!" He unleashes his energy built up toward Kayleigh, creating a huge explosion in her face.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screams, in agonizing pain. She's launched in the air and crashes hardly to the ground. Lance and Co. are all wide-eyed, not believing what they are seeing from Richard.

"WOW! That was insane! Who knew he had THAT in his repertoire?" Lance exclaimed. Emily and Sarah's jaws dropped in amazement. Meanwhile Lance's Dad thought differently.

"Don't get too excited. Look at Richard." he announces. They look at Richard, who is suddenly panting and sweating. _Oh, I see. Looks like that attack takes a little bit out of Richard. I'm guessing that he used his own energy to channel that attack. Risky, but it looks like it payed off. Kayleigh isn't looking too good._

Out of nowhere, Kayleigh grabs Richard with her vine, catching him off guard. _WHAT?! HOW?! SHE TOOK THAT MUCH DAMAGE AND CAN STILL FIGHT?!_ Kayleigh then slams him to the ground a few times, each time harder than the last. "ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Richard yells out, in pain from her attack. Then Kayleigh gets up, glowing green, and shouts, "THORN STORM." She launches her thorns up in the air, and begin to fire on Richard, who tries to get up and dodge, but Kayleigh's vine trips him, and plenty of thorns hit him, causing massive damage. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Richard screams, in more pain than he was from the previous attack that he endured. He lays down on the ring, looking lifeless. _No… I let… my guard down… UGH! This'll hurt in the morning…_

Kayleigh, breathing heavily, laughs. "See? You got cocky… and… left yourself open. Serves… you right." She says with a grin, convinced that she's won.

Emily immediately shouts, "GET UP RICHARD! PLEASE." The crowd joins in with her, chanting Richard's name. Lance's Dad is convinced that it's over.

"I hate to say it, but I think we're at the end here. Richard totally forgot about those vines that she uses. She usually uses them as a distraction, but this time used them to throw off Richard. I don't think he saw that coming. What clever thinking by Kayleigh." He explains.

Lance looks at his dad in disbelief. "You mean to say that she took that blast on PURPOSE?!" Lance asked, panicking. His father simply nods his head. _Unbelievable. Taking a blow like that, then with your opponent having every bit of confidence, take them down like that. Such a cruel strategy._ Just then, Lance notices Kevin, who is looking on very carefully and calmly.

"I wouldn't quit on Richard like that, Mr. Vernon." He says, looking at Lance's dad. "He's not done yet. Not by a long shot." He said with a smile. As he said that, Richard starts glowing silver, and gets up quickly. Kayleigh is in complete shock. The crowd roaring, so loud that it felt like the arena shook. _WHAT IS THIS GUY MADE OF?!_

"How...?! How did you survive that?!" Kayleigh asks, confused as everyone else in the arena. Richard just grins, clenching his hammers.

"Just like I told you. You're gonna remember tonight for the rest of your life. That thorn attack? I put my hammers on my back, shielding me from most of the thorns." He says in a calm, confident voice. Suddenly, with incredible speed and hammers in hand, he delivers blow after blow to Kayleigh. She tries to get him with her vines, but Richard hits them back. He then finally shouts, THIS IS FOR EMILY! MYSTIC HAMMER STRIKE!" His one hammer glows white, and slams it onto Kayleigh, creating a giant explosion that covers half of the ring. As the smoke clears, Richard has his back turned on Kayleigh, who lays lifeless in the ring. The gong has sounded, and the crowd erupts.

 _ **WE HAVE OURSELVES A WINNER! THE ASCENDED WARRIOR, RICHARD THE HAMMER BRO!**_

Richard raises his fist, acknowledging his victory, and his first in the major-league. Lance and everyone yelling and chanting his name with the rest of the crowd. Emily is crying tears of joy, like a giant weight has been lifted off her shoulders. Richard goes to shake Kayleigh's leaf. They shake, and they walk off. Once everything calms down, the group sits back in their seat. Emily still has a gigantic smile on her face.

"That was so awesome! I just…AHHH! I can't believe it!" she shouts. Sarah rubs her back, smiling. She hasn't seen her this happy in months. She looks over to Lance, mouthing 'thank you' to him. Emily looks at Lance, with the biggest smile on her face.

"Thank you so much, Lance. You really are an awesome guy." she states. Lance scratches the back of his head.

"Hey, I didn't do any-" he was cut off by a joint hug from both Emily and Sarah. To them, it felt like a brand new, fresh start. All Lance could do is smile and embrace them both. Then, Kevin chimed in.

"Y'know Lance, some day you're gonna have to choose who's the lucky one! HAHAHA!" he said jokingly. Lance quickly turned around, blushing, and proceeded to lightly shove Kevin. Everyone laughs hysterically, even Mary.

"S-SERIOUSLY?! Way to ruin the moment, you jerk!" he says, embarrassed. Kevin reassures him that he was joking.

"I'm only kidding. Sorry, but I couldn't help it! You're just too easy, HAHA!" Kevin added humorously. Lance just shrugs his shoulders and ignores that last statement.

The night ends with Prince Mush being victorious in his title defense. Everyone sticks around waiting for Richard. When he comes out, he's congratulated by the media and then finally by Lance and Co. They go to Hayden's Lodge to celebrate, which is near the hotel. They all have a toast for Kevin and Richard's wins. Mary decides she needs to step out, suddenly.

"Hey guys? I need to step back a little bit. My stomach feels woozy, so I'm gonna get some air. Everyone nods, acknowledging her. Lance stops her before she goes.

"Stay where I can see you. You know what time it is, right?" Lance said, concerned with Mary. Mary chuckled.

"Hey, no need to worry. I was only going to be out in front of the doors anyways." She responded with confidence. Lance sees her walk off, out the doors, standing right where she said she would.

Mary takes in a nice, cool breath of fresh air. She looks around, seeing how Glitzville is at night. She takes out her phone, takes a picture, and takes a picture of the scenery with the buildings with the lights. As she posts it on her social media page, she smiles, being at peace with where she is right now in her life. _Sigh…what a day. So many questions answered, thank god, and Lance knows what he's doing. He was right, as much as it pains for me to admit it._ Then, Mary notices two people with hoods walking toward her. She immediately backs away to the door. Lance, who is looking away momentarily, doesn't notice. One person, the Toad, breaks the silence.

"Why, hello beautiful." He says. Mary starts to panic. _Who the hell are these freaks?_ "What's wrong? Don't be nervous. I was only wondering why a beautiful woman like you is wandering the streets alone?" he asks. Mary can't think of anything to say, as she's frozen to the point of fear. "Come with us, we'll keep you safe." Mary recomposes herself. _Okay, SERIOUSLY Mary? Don't be scared, you're better than this!_

"Sorry, boys. You're just not my type. The fact that your hitting on me makes me go TOTALLY BARFING." The expressions on the Toad and Goomba are more angry than surprised than what Mary anticipated. _Uh oh…_

"That was cold. We were only trying to be nice." Said the Goomba angerly. "I think we should teach you a little respect to others who are nice. Get her!" he commanded the Koopa. The Koopa approaches her, and Mary unexpectedly kicks the Koopa right in the private area. The Koopa is down on one knee, barely able to move. At that point, Lance notices what's going on outside. Mary starts running away, barely escaping the Goomba's grasp for now. She runs to wherever there's room to run. As she looks back, two more goons join the chase. _WHAT THE- WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?!_

Lance, not wanting to ruin the mood of everyone having a good time, thinks of a quick idea. "Hey, I'm gonna catch some air and walk around. I'll be back soon." As soon he leaves the door and is out of sight from the store, he starts running at full-speed, looking for where they could've gone. He hears a scream from Mary, "AHHHHHHHHH!" He runs in the direction where he heard her. Someone tries to get in his way, but he just quickly trips him, and leaves him behind. He hears another scream, louder than the other one, indicating that he's close. He runs into an alley with a high fence, but nobody is there. _Must be on the other side then._

Mary is backed against a fence, with only three goons trapping her in an alley. The Goomba, Koopa Troopa, Shy Guy, and Toad start approaching her. The Toad removes his hood, revealing who he really was. Mary is trembling in fear. _N-No…NO. HOW DID HE..._ "Remember me, sweetie? It's Greg." Mary is trembling in fear, remember that name and face all _too_ well.

 _ **Flashback to 2 years ago…**_

Gary has Mary _[16 years old]_ pinned to the ground, in the rain. He moves closer to her face, whispering, "I always had an interest in you…you're so beautiful. Why waste your time?"

Mary lets out a horrific scream. "HELP MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" As Gary is about to make his move, Lance sucker-kicks him right in the temple. Just then, 3 goons come out of hiding. Lance picks Mary up and gets away, jumping onto the roof.

 _ **Present Time…**_

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! GO AWAAAAAAAAAAAY!" she screams. Right when Gary is about to approach her, Lance comes between them by jumping over the tall fence. Mary smiles in relief, seeing him come to protect her. He recognizes the Toad's face right away. _Y-…YOU._

Lance just stands there quietly, protecting his sister. Gary breaks the silence. "Well, well, well. We meet again, Lance." Lance just clenches his fists. He feels his phone vibrate, but he just ignores it. _Must be somebody. I've been gone a while._ "This time there's no escape, no sneak attack, no NOTHIN'. GET HIM!" All of them start rushing to attack Lance, starting a fight. Lance is avoiding all attacks, and begins to counter attack, simply by using his incredible speed to reappear behind them. They all hit each other, too late to realize that he disappeared. Then Lance glows blue, using his Dragon Fury attack, causing heavy damage to all the goons. Three of his underlings lay unconscious. Gary, the last one standing and the least injured, can't believe what he's seeing. _No…he CAN'T be stronger than he was two years ago…CAN HE?!_ Lance is still glowing blue, intimidating Gary. _NO! HE WILL NOT BEAT ME._ Gary hits Lance right on the cheek. He seems to be stunned but turns his head back. _THAT…THAT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING?! I GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE._ Lance picks up Mary, jumps to the other end of the alley, puts her down, and punches Gary in the face, knocking him down. Then, he picks him up by the shirt and punches him in the gut. "GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" he screams in agony.

"YOU SEE THIS?!´Lance yells. "YOU SEE HOW HELPLESS YOU ARE?! THAT'S HOW MARY FELT WHEN YOU ALMOST-" Mary looks at Lance at that point in time, seeing the utter rage in his eyes.

"LANCE! PLEASE, STOP! LAAAAAANCE!" she screamed, tears flowing down her face. Lance comes to his senses and puts Gary down, laying helpless on the ground. Mary sees a tear roll down Lance's face as he picks her up. The police finally arrive, asking Lance what happened.

"Please…" he begged the police officer. "Keep him," Lance looks at Gary as he begins, "in jail for the rest of his life." The police notice who he is and arrest him and his three goons right on the spot. Lance carries Mary back to the Lounge as the others wait for him. They see him carrying her, asking them what happened. As he explained, they all embraced each other. _Gary has finally been arrested. He's not going to bother anyone, anymore._ Finally, Lance can sleep without fearing for Mary.

As he walks in the hotel, he sees Shawn, staring right at him at next to the door. "So, beating on people on the streets now, huh?" Mary, fast asleep, rustles around his arms.

"…You saw that?! How?!" he asked. Shawn chuckled to himself. "Wait, if you saw that…why didn't you do anything?!" He hands Mary to Kyle, who can barely carry her.

"Cause you're a scrub. You're nothing to me, that's why." He explained. _WHY…WHY YOU LITTLE…_ "Good luck tomorrow. You'll need it, so I don't end your career." He says, walking out.

Anger pulses through Lance's body. _HE WAS THERE THE WHOLE TIME AND DIDN'T WANT TO HELP?!_ _GRRRRRRRR!_ Kevin puts his hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, keep your cool. He's trying to get under your skin." Kevin says to Lance calmly. He took a deep breath and settled down.

"Thanks, Kev. I appreciate that." _I cannot wait. Finally, I get my chance at him. Finally, the end of all of this is coming. And Finally, we settle all of this. For Once. And for All._

 _End of Chapter 6_


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